


Dance Again

by jeroine



Category: Banana Fish (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Accidents, Alternate Universe - Dance, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Bonding, Crushes, Eiji-centric, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Happy Ending, Heart-to-Heart, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Introspection, Laughter, M/M, No Spoilers, Not Beta Read, Other, Phone Calls & Telephones, Sexual Tension, Slow Burn, ash has no background of sexual abuse, yut lung is a bit of a diva
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-08
Updated: 2018-11-04
Packaged: 2019-07-08 11:00:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 21,497
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15929066
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jeroine/pseuds/jeroine
Summary: 19-year-old Eiji Okumura is a former professional dancer, who is now a dance teacher in a small studio.17-year-old Ash Lynx is a young and prodigious professional dancer who seems to be more than what meets the eye.They get quickly entangled in a slow waltz full of confusing feelings and awkward moments.(a.k.a. your 90's Dance AU)





	1. Godsend

**Author's Note:**

> Heyy, look who fell into Banana Fish! It's a me.  
> It's been a while since I wrote something, so I'm quite out of practice. :")
> 
> Also, the planned number of chapters (12) is tentative.

Energy flowed throughout the concert hall like a vacillating wave. Through the unmistakable harmony of the stage dancers with the music, this little nook in Williamsburg, Brooklyn delivered rhythmic unity felt by the audience. Unbeknownst to anyone, this place had given birth to a tale of two intertwined fates. Start this with two people of different, yet same worlds.

19-year-old former professional dancer Eiji Okumura and 17-year-old dance professional and prodigy Ash Lynx.

While both of them were linear with their professions as dancers, neither of them had before crossed paths even once. Neither of them had even dreamed of it. They were complete strangers in the same discipline.

Eiji Okumura once moved on the same stage as Ash Lynx. His fire ignited hundreds - no, thousands - and rallied their hearts to the beat of the music. However, much like a fire indeed, it can never remain lit forever. Eiji took it upon himself to step down professionally in secret when it died down, making his disappearance from the world of dance a mystery. Nobody but retired dancer Shunichi Ibe and now a couple of sincere children knew of the Eiji who they all called ‘teacher’ within the four corners of a humble dance studio safely tucked in the secluded folds of Little Italy, Manhattan.

Here he was in this hip area of Brooklyn, however, transfixed on the young Ash Lynx as he stirred the audience with the same, if not more intense, fire. Eiji initially had qualms about seeing this Ash Lynx, having an unwanted feeling of pining eat at him as a former professional dancer. Nevertheless, as easily swayed as he was, a casual appraisal by his earnest student, Sing Soo Ling, led him to the concert hall he stood in. And as Sing had told him, he knew in an instant why his student was so adamant on making him see this particular concert (aside from Sing saying that his cousin was part of this dancer’s group).

Every thump of Ash’s sneakers on the stage brought about passion in the hearts of all concert goers. In the same way, a fledgling flame kindled the heart of Eiji, feeling Ash’s fervent rhythm circulate in his veins. Through Ash, Eiji felt as if the stage longed for his spirit again, an ethereal moment of mutual yearning that left him pulling on threads to embrace the stage again.

As Ash’s group came to a close, Eiji found himself snapping back, now with strong sentiment for what he used to be. The fledgling flame remained lit in his heart, which essentially served as Ash’s very first impression on him. Before the crowd dispersed, Ash held the mic close to his lips, imparting the audience with the ever obligatory gratitude with heart and with words that struck Eiji where it counted.

“Your presence means a lot to us, really. We wouldn’t be here without you all. You ignited our small flame and in turn, we will ignite yours! Because that is our calling! Thank you, Williamsburg!”

A newfound spark glimmered in Eiji’s irises as everyone hollered, as the vigor brought by Ash’s passionate movements remained in him after the group and the crowd dispersed and until the next sunrise.

 

* * *

 

It had been days since the concert in Williamsburg.

Eiji Okumura executed his usual morning routine that consisted of a brisk shower, a good-enough breakfast, a moment to put his contacts on, and a quick game of dress-up. This morning, he chose to pull off a hot pink jacket from his wardrobe that go along with his jet black tank top and pair of black tights. Slinging his lightweight duffel bag across his shoulder, he double-checked his door locks and finally departed for the studio that was merely a walk away.

His slightly worn sneakers softly thumped against the concrete as he climbed upstairs to his studio. The young and earnest Sing Soo Ling was awaiting him near the door, shooting Eiji a small smirk who brandished the key from his pocket and effortlessly unlocked the door.

“You look refreshed.” Sing commented, following his content teacher in the studio.

The older Asian set his duffel bag down on the wooden floor of his dance studio when he heard this from Sing. His other students, Skipper and Michael, arrived moments after and began playing around in their own volition, but none that disrupted the serene atmosphere around the room. Imagine a countryside meadow where the gentle breeze guides the grass tips in a waltz. Above it all is the bright blue ocean of clouds and the tender ball of warmth that is the sun. The carefree man lays among the grasslands and lets himself sink in the field, embracing the warmth and leaving himself open to breathe.

Now, Eiji whose face was exfoliating, replied in his sincerest.

“Thank you. It seems that Ash Lynx has left a bit of an impression in me.”

This made Sing smile. “I told you he’s not like any other. He is one of a kind, and one who made a name for himself and his group. He makes all people appreciate the art of dancing much more.”

“I can see how.” Eiji muttered to himself.

Just as he finishes, Shunichi Ibe entered the room, frantic in his expression and manic in his footsteps. “Ei-chan! You have a new student!”

The word ‘new’ perked up Eiji’s pale ears. There were only Michael, Skipper, and Sing in his class, so the idea of a new student was more than welcome. However, what made the news more surprising was the fact that from Ibe’s body language, it seemed as if this person enrolled right after seeing one of the fliers. Eiji was mind-boggled beyond belief, not because of how easily the person enrolled in his class but because only a few people come and go by the studio. Most of the time, the passer-by’s did not give a shit, so a new student would be a miracle from heaven at this point. So, Eiji reacted like any normal person would.

“A new student? That’s…”

Ibe panted momentarily before he parted his lips to speak again. “He’s not a typical student, I assure you that.” Everyone slightly tensed up at Ibe’s choice of words. The increasing volume of footsteps from outside behind the middle-aged man did not help in quelling their anxieties either.

“Here he is.” Ibe almost slipped out the phrase ‘speak of the devil’.

The door knob wriggled before the meek door slowly swung open with a loud creak. A tall figure almost enveloped the tall frame, although he did not need to crouch to show himself in. He was under-dressed compared to everyone who had at least two layers of clothing, only wearing a partly tucked-in white shirt and navy blue cargo pants. It was not his attire, however, that had everyone’s jaws dropped.

This person had a beautiful face, a rare kind for a man to have. His neatly trimmed brows of pale lemon shade, irises of jade behind fiercely shaped eyes and hair as equally yellow as his brows were all too familiar. Eiji and Sing did not take too long to recognize who this person was.

“Hey.” Ash Lynx waved at everyone while flashing his typical million-dollar smile.

He was a godsend from heaven indeed. It was much so that a trembling Sing pointed an accusatory finger at the famous figure by the door. He was more than astonished that his cousin’s best friend and group leader was standing there in the flesh. 

“You’re-!”

“The new student?” Eiji finished the question calmly in lieu of the restless Sing, yet the older Asian was just as confounded, if not more.

The ever vivid Ash simply nodded. “Mhmm.”

Nobody made a single noise after that for a few seconds, except for Ash who sought the corner closest to Eiji’s bag to set down his backpack and returned to his previous spot.

Eiji himself took all of his willpower to stop himself from raving about Ash’s performance in Williamsburg. However, Michael and Skipper with their childlike tendencies flocked around Ash, asking for autographs. Accordingly, Ash whipped out a pen from his pants pocket and happily reached out to Skipper first and then Michael, leaving the children’s hearts content.

Something about the tall youth’s tenderness with the kids briefly reminded Eiji of himself around his sister. He had a younger sister back at Japan who he’d send letters and presents to yearly. Nowadays, the gifts became lesser ever since he “retired”. Thinking about Emi-chan pushed him to near tears.

Blinking his swelling tears away, dance teacher Eiji took a stride forward. He had nearly forgotten about conducting a session due to Ash Lynx’s sudden appearance, a feat normal for any kind of celebrity among common people. The kids knew in an instant that the session was about to take place, so they scrambled back and stood before Eiji. Ash remained on his spot beside the teacher. Ibe took a seat nearby the door to watch.

The Japanese man cleared his throat lightly before speaking, not because he had a cough. It all stemmed to Ash Lynx disrupting the atmosphere just by stepping in. The tall blond seemed to have assessed this situation and his role in it from the look on his face, but he remained in his spot.

“Forgive me for starting late, everyone! As we all know, we have a new student to join us. If you may?”

The wide-eyed Eiji turned to Ash, giving the latter the cue to speak next.

“I’m Ash Lynx. 17 and the leader of the dance group X. Nice to meet everyone!”

He showed everyone the same smile from earlier. Somehow, Eiji couldn’t help but feel as if the tall man’s smiles so far were superficial, but they already had wasted several minutes idling around. So, he blinked twice and stayed on track with conducting the first of many dance sessions throughout the summer of ‘91.

 

* * *

  

Time flew faster than the occasional housefly on the move and before everyone knew it, the session was already over.

Michael and Skipper went ahead not before bidding Eiji and their classmates a “see you next time.” As the Japanese dance teacher sorted through his duffel bag, he overheard a conversation between Ash and Sing, who were only meters away from him.

“It’s a surprise to see you here.” Sing declared, playfully jabbing at Ash’s shoulder before the younger boy’s expression turned half-serious. “Did Shorter tell you anything about this place?”

“Nah, I happen to find it out all on my own.” Ash shrugged lightly. “He does know that I’ll be taking a summer dance class during our short hiatus. But he doesn’t know it’s this one.”

“A hiatus?” Sing leaned forward with his arms crossed. “You ran out of ideas?" 

Upon hearing the second question roll out of the boy’s tongue, Ash’s jade irises wandered aimlessly before turning back to the younger boy.

“Eh..something like that, I guess.” Ash casually replied, hand reaching for his own backpack and slinging one strap over his shoulder.

Sing merely breathed out as he watched the blond man stride toward the restroom, eyes landing on his dance teacher. The young boy was almost just as keen as Ash when it came to people. This time, Sing felt obligated to open his mouth. 

“I take it that you’ve heard everything.”

Eiji flinched from the sudden call-out of Sing, but he couldn’t help overhearing the conversation due to proximity. The younger Asian boy put on a more casual tone to reassure his teacher.

“Don’t take it as an offense. People tend to overhear all sorts of conversations every day.”

__Huh…__ __

What Sing just told him was true, but he had a nudging feeling that Ash let him overhear the conversation on purpose. If not, the two would have talked outside or somewhere far. If so, what was Eiji supposed to do about the information? Sighing, Eiji zipped his duffel bag and turned off most of the lights. Before he was able to step out of the room, he came face-to-face with a very tall man sporting sunglasses and a purple mohawk. They both jumped back from quick reflex.

“Gyaaaaghh!” The taller man yelped.

Sing turned to the source of the noise. The tall man by the door was backed against the wall outside the studio. Eiji merely looked like a deer in headlights, staring at the man with his wide eyes. Before either of them made any move, Sing let out a boisterous cackle, one he tried hold in.

“Shorter!” Sing wiped a tear forming on the corner of his eye. “That was…pfffff….that was the best first impression to give to my dance teacher!”

 __So he must be Shorter.__  

“Oh?” The tall man named Shorter straightened his posture, adjusting his sunglasses as he did. He dusted himself before taking a step forward and facing Eiji with an apologetic smile.

“Hey man, I’m sorry about that! You gave me a fright there!”

Eiji’s eyes mellowed. He extended his hand to Shorter as a prelude to an introduction. Somewhere behind the Japanese man’s mind, he instinctively knew he’d become good friends with this goofy person.

“Ah no! I should be sorry!” Eiji chuckled. “I am Eiji Okumura. I teach dancing.”

Shorter took the raven-haired boy’s extended hand and shook it gently. “Shorter Wong. I’ll be serving as Sing’s guardian for the whole summer. His older half-brother went off somewhere.”

As they exchanged smiles, Ash traipsed out of the restroom, backpack in tow. As his jade eyes caught the sight of Shorter, they widened in sheer surprise.

“Shorter?” Ash asked out loud, relying on the echoes produced by the room.

The man in question turned to the blond man at the other end of the studio. When the two made eye contact, they strode toward each other, arms extended. They met halfway with a hug.

“Ash?? Is this the dance class you’ve enrolled yourself in?” Shorter pulled back to ask this to his friend. “I didn’t quite expect this at all!”

The blond simply rested a hand on his taller friend’s shoulder.

“You know what they say. Surprises add a bit of spice in life.” Ash smirked.

Shorter shifted around and slung his arm around Ash. “You just made that up on the spot.”

As some sort of cue, Eiji cleared his throat out loud, hand leaning against the door frame. Sing was also standing beside his teacher, hands in his pants pockets.

“Um, we are going to lock this room now, so..” His voice was sheepish, but neither Shorter nor Ash made any comment on it and they simply followed the Japanese man.

The older Asian gently closed the door and firmly locked it, tucking the key back in his pocket. It was Sing who went ahead, not even hesitating to look back as he descended the flight of stairs and turned a corner. Before Eiji could follow the boy, Shorter stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. It was Ash, however, who spoke first.

“Do you Japanese people often apologize for someone else?” The blond man asked not out of provocation, but out of sheer curiosity. “You guys are such masochists.”

Eiji’s face reddened out of self-consciousness, not even questioning how he heard the conversation from the restroom. “It is the way I have been brought up.”

This made Ash chuckle briefly before bringing the smaller man’s left palm up and overlapping it with his own left hand. What seemed like a matte business card fell on top of Eiji’s palm, to which he secured with his thumb. With that, Ash withdrew his hands and turned back.

“I think you know what to do with that, teacher.” He smirked.

As he went ahead downstairs, he stopped after a few steps and turned back to Shorter, who for some reason stayed near Eiji.

“Heya, go make it quick.” Ash said this as if he knew what his friend would do, hand casually gripping the steel handrail. “Sing’s gonna be waiting.”

The blond American continued his descent down the flight of stairs and disappeared. His choice of words brought about a chilled sensation down Eiji’s spine, mildly anticipating Shorter’s actions as the man himself turned to the card on Eiji’s palm. On it simply contained a handwritten phone number and nothing else, but it somehow made the tall man looked bemused.

“That’s weird.” He began. “He rarely gives out his __personal number__  to anyone…” Shorter withdrew his hand from Eiji’s shoulder and cupped his own chin with his own thumb.

“And much more so to a personal stranger like yourself…” A smile forms on the tall man’s contemplative face as his gentle amber eyes trained on Eiji. “I guess he __likes__ you.”

Eiji felt his face flush at the last sentence, but considering the circumstances as being Ash’s dance teacher, he shook his head quickly.

“Anyhow, I never thought I’d see my best friend AND my cousin under the wing of one teacher.” Shorter began, scratching the back of his head casually. “What a small world of coincidences.”

The smaller man laughed. “There is no such thing.” And the taller man laughed with him.

It took a few moments for the quiet laughs to die down and give way to Shorter’s serious expression. Instinctively, the wide-eyed Eiji found himself shrinking.

“I just want to tell you to take care of both of them. They mean a whole lot to me and I don’t want them to be hurt.” The taller man was pensive with his tone. “Who knows what might happen to me at any point in time?”

Eiji eased himself and took the man’s words to heart. The two had only known each other for a good few minutes, yet here he was, listening to Shorter’s quiet plea as he put his trust on the line. Why he was spilled all of this in the early stage of their relationship baffled Eiji to no end, so he felt like raising just one question.

“Why are you saying this all of a sudden?”

Shorter raised his brows in casual surprise.

“I could over-worry about things like that sometimes.” At this, he momentarily diverted his gaze. “Besides, you seem like a good person. I trust you on that.” 

It took a reassuring smile from Eiji to cement the mutual trust between himself and Shorter. For the smaller man, trust was something not meant to be played around with. It also meant something that was not easily obtained and given. But, he knew from Shorter’s sincerity and words that this was an exceptional case. His thoughts were cut abruptly when the taller man gave him a light slap on his back.

“I should get going. See you around!”

He playfully waved as he made his descent down the stairs and disappeared from view, leaving Eiji to ponder briefly before sliding Ash’s card in his jacket pocket and heading out for a walk.


	2. Muse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The following night, Eiji Okumura had a moment of introspection.
> 
> And the following day, he was challenged to think about love.

The following night, Eiji Okumura had a moment of introspection.

From everything about Ash to Shorter becoming one of his new friends, things seemed to happen so fast. Too fast for his own comfort, stated as a matter of fact. He counteracted himself by thinking that something like this happens every now and then, but he could not help worrying.

Like Shorter Wong, Eiji himself was often a worried individual, head set on mentally branching out possibilities for the future. Like a sea that would eventually split off into several rivers and streams, he had to choose which path to take. He was aware that prospective thinking, if done often, does not help him, but it developed into a tendency early on from middle school.

Remaining horizontal on his bed with his limbs spread around in hopes for sleep to take him, his mind drifted off to Ash.

_Ash Lynx._

Why did a fellow professional dancer like Ash put himself under the tutelage of someone like Eiji? If anything, it would be fitting for the other way around to happen, but this? The raven-haired man in his plaid pajamas could not possibly comprehend this. Maybe this should be something for him to wonder about tomorrow, he thought.

He took a glance at the matte card that had Ash’s number on it, which was laying flat on his nightstand beside the case containing his contacts. In hopes of spacing out, he trained his eyes on the apartment’s ceiling. As a shortsighted person, he could barely see in more detail the specks on his ceiling, nor could he see the window sill beside him in his purview. Only the lamp directly below his torso was clearly visible to him.

Despite the attempt to sleep, it took about two hours into the late night before Eiji’s lids slid shut.

 

* * *

 

 

He arrived much earlier in the studio for the next session, which was two days after the first one. He held classes every other morning, particularly on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Sometimes, he’d arrive early and sometimes, he’d arrive a little but never too late. Merely a truth in life.

Without anything else to do, Eiji set his duffel bag down near the door he closed behind him and began his usual round of warm-ups.

Nobody came in, at least yet.

So, the small man strode toward his duffel bag and brought out his walkman and pair of lightweight headphones. He also took off his orange jacket and cloaked his duffel bag with it, exposing a loose, elbow-length crop top with the bold letters “NY” on it. Since he had already put in a cassette tape, he only had to wear his headphones and gently tuck his walkman in the pocket of his high-waisted jeans. When he positioned himself on the center of the room, he pressed on the playback button and let the [music](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEJ2b6IaGWU) lead him.

His movements were fluid and gentle, occasionally strutting as a show of sass, all the while maintaining his rhythm with the music. It had been long since he danced on his own like this, a feeling of certain bliss washing over him as he improvised a step sequence without tripping badly. He attempted to pop and lock, to which he thought he could use more practice on.

Nobody still came in, at least yet.

As he continued being immersed in the music, he did not hear as the door creaked open. Eiji was completely into the moment that he did not notice Ash Lynx’s jade irises trained on his teacher. It only registered to Eiji that he was being watched before he could hit the playback button again once the music came to an end.

 _“Teacher.”_ Ash stressed, still looking mesmerized.

The moment he heard the blond man’s voice, a furious blush crept on Eiji’s cheeks. He instantaneously removed his headsets and wore it around his neck. Despite being embarrassed about getting caught up in the moment, he retained most of his composure to word out a rational response.

“How much of it did you see?”

Ash managed to snap out of the trance he was apparently put in to.

“Just the last few moves.” He muttered ambiguously.

Eiji huffed. “That does not really help.”

Ash shot his teacher a glare that eventually melted into a look of endearment. He took the first few steps toward the shorter man.

“I know.” He admitted. “But maybe I could help you polish those last moves. They were a little reckless. Maybe you haven’t used them that much.” The last part was muttered under Ash’s breath, but Eiji heard it nonetheless.

The Japanese man hesitated at the offer. It was not because he was being offered help by a fellow professional, but because it was __Ash Lynx__  from that day in Williamsburg offering him help. If anything, it should have flattered Eiji to be offered some form of advice from a fellow professional, if not a much better one. However…

“Now now.” Eiji jokingly waved a lecturing finger at Ash. “That sounds funny being your dance teacher, but I accept your proposition.”

_Fuck._

The taller man simply smiled at this. It was different from his celebrity smiles from the first session. To Eiji, the way he smiled just now seemed genuine and affectionate. For some reason, he wanted to see more of those smiles from Ash. Not the plastic, camera smiles from the Ash Lynx in front of his fans, but from Ash Lynx as his natural self.

Wait.

_Oh god._

“Hey, are you okay?” Ash’s face was a few meters away from Eiji’s reddened one, as the former was leaning forward. “You’re burning up.”

The smaller man cupped the sides of his face with his two hands. “….I’ll be fine. Could you bring out the external speaker?”

Ash, in his usually nonchalant expression, obliged without word. He plugged in the cords accordingly and watched Eiji make a beeline to the restroom.

“I’ll be washing my face for a bit.” Eiji’s voice echoed from the restroom.

 

* * *

 

_What was that?!_

He frantically turned the faucet knob open, letting the water gush out. As it flowed vigorously and made loud noises that echoes around the restroom, he stockpiled water in his hands and doused his flushed face with it. He repeated this a few times until beads of water covered his face. However, his conscience seemed to pound him ceaselessly.

_Did he just flirt back?_

He turned the faucet off and tilted up to look at his reflection. He was still exfoliating, but just like what Ash had told him, he looked like he was __burning hot__. He did not feel feverish or anything, but indeed he was so flushed. He wondered if this reaction had something to do with seeing Ash dance in Williamsburg. He also wondered if he’d still feel the same if he hadn’t gone to see his performance.

Prior to that day, Ash was merely somebody else in the world of dance. There were a few times Eiji considered seeing his performances, but never got around it. Not until Sing Soo Ling persuaded him a few weeks ago. And here Eiji was, head pounding with embarrassment and tension.

After taking a few deep breaths, he regained his composure and stepped out of the restroom where Ash was seen waiting.

 

* * *

 

“You doing okay?” was Ash’s immediate question.

The external speaker had been set up, waiting for input from Eiji’s walkman. The smaller man simply nodded as he brought out his walkman. Before he could plug it in, he took a glance at the time.

Looks like there was more time to spare before the kids arrive.

The walkman was successfully plugged in to the speaker. The same music soon filled the studio after Eiji pressed on the playback button. Upon hearing the first few notes, the blond man entered a contemplative phase briefly before turning to his teacher.

“Hey, your taste in music isn’t quite...so bad.” Ash commented, before extending his hand to his teacher in an inviting manner. “Now come on, I’ll teach you.”

There was that loving smile again.

With flushed ears, Eiji obliged wordlessly as if in some sort of trance, taking steps forward to meet Ash as their private dance ensued.

 

* * *

 

“No, no. Angle your hips a bit more…….like…that.”

He could feel Ash’s hot breath make contact with the shell of his ear. The taller man was only a few centimeters behind him, helping him with his stance. However, it was not only the close proximity that made the situation awkward for the smaller man. It was also Ash’s husky voice, his calloused hands on Eiji’s hips, and his serious, come-hither gaze. The Japanese man had tried several times to keep himself from combusting.

“Perfect, perfect! Now slide fluidly. Imagine being a wave clashing with the shoreline.”

And so Eiji did. Ash happily followed, now standing behind him again. However, the smaller man could not help with the question that had been on the tip of his tongue.

“Not to offend you, but why are you this close to me?” The smaller man queried in-between moves. His cheeks were dusted pink.

The question did not stop Ash from doing his thing, however. It only invoked a response from the taller man.

“Huh?” He replied casually, hands withdrawing from his teacher. “Well, I help my group mates develop their stance better like this. If you want, I’ll stop.”

The withdrawal involuntarily induced a pang of guilt in Eiji. Why did he assume an ulterior motive behind Ash’s touches? Maybe it could be a result of his conservative upbringing. But, he was here in America, where physical expression was practiced a bit more freely. It felt wrong for him to assume, so he shifted in an attempt to look Ash in the eyes.

However, he bumped against the taller man’s foot and nearly tripped. Nearly, because Ash managed to catch him with both arms before his back could hit the floor. At the same time, it brought their faces closer, foreheads bumping and eyes directly staring at each other. Neither of them had assessed the situation thus far, until Ash was the first to speak.

“Are you okay?” Was the thing that came out of his mouth first.

At this point, Eiji was bewildered. How could he ask for another person’s well-being first? It was sickeningly sweet that someone was looking out for him like this. At the same time, it was his fault for putting both of them in this…situation.

“I should be the one asking that.” The wide-eyed Eiji blinked beneath Ash, both of them sporting a light shade of pink on their cheeks. “I tripped on you.”

The taller man snickered. “I know, you klutz. I’m more than okay, but you were about to hit the floor hard.”

He did have a good point on that, so he was met without any retort. Instead, he was met with a soft headbutt, which caught him off-guard in a split second.

“Oh, so I am Japanese klutz now?” Eiji teased. “Oh, I am sooooorry!”

Ash couldn’t help but snicker at his teacher’s purposefully broken English, but Eiji continued, a tender expression manifesting in his facial features.

“But you caught me. So I am fine.”

The two eventually broke into a quiet fit of laughter, still in the same position. It was not until they heard Shorter’s voice echo across the room that they became conscious of it.

“...oh.” The tall man from the door muttered under his breath. “Did I…interrupt something?”

A furious blush spread across Eiji’s cheeks upon the realization that Ash was technically dipping him. The same level of redness also covered the blond man’s face as the man helped his teacher up.

“Ah, no.” Ash pouted. “He happened to trip on my foot.”

It looked as if Shorter did not buy it, but he chose to roll along with this. This made Eiji all the more red in the face from embarrassment.

“Whatever you say.” The Chinese man shot his friend a coy smile.

As the tall man entered in the room, Sing, and moments later, Michael and Skipper followed in. Retrieving his walkman, Eiji stashed it back in his duffel bag, where the curious Shorter was sitting nearby.

“You still have a walkman?” He commented. “That’s pretty old-school.”

Ash chimed in from behind. “I was about to say the same earlier, but I figured you carry it around for a significant reason.”

The Asian teacher went quiet at Ash's comment. The walkman was a gift from his father back in Japan. It was nearly a decade-old gift that became integral in his life, reminding him of his roots while walking around foreign soil that did not seem foreign to him anymore. Shorter did have a point, as CD players and boomboxes were rising in popularity. However, no matter the odds, he would latch on this walkman as long as he could.

“It is a valuable.” He smiled down on the duffel bag where his walkman was tucked.

The tall man immediately understood the weight behind Eiji’s retort.

“I didn’t mean it as an insult.” Shorter smiled. “It’s actually cool to see younger people still use those.”

“Really?” Eiji was feeling flattered, but he had to stay concentrated now that his students were all present. “That’s pretty nice to hear. Also, are you going to stay here?”

Shorter quizzically glanced at the other Asian. “Yeah, why? I don’t have anything else on my plate.”

The smaller man simply exhaled. He had an unspoken policy about not letting people loiter in the studio, but he somehow softened and just let bygones be bygones. 

"Nothing. Just don't disrupt the class."

With that, he left the Chinese man on his own devices and beckoned the students for another session of dance.

 

* * *

 

“Teacher Eiji, what’s love?”

Skipper’s brown orbs gazed intently at the person of interest. It was water break when Eiji was asked this question.

What islove? Is it merely a feeling of fondness for someone? Does it entail fluttery feelings that make someone queasy to their stomach? The Asian knew love was not only an aspect of romance, but even of friendship and family. That was how much he knew, but he pondered again.

What _is_ love?

“Teacher?” Skipper’s tiny voice cut through his train of thought.

“Ah.” Eiji flinched. “Why the question, Skip?”

With that, the young African-American boy began recounting his tale about having a small crush on an unnamed person. From the context clues, the subject of Skip’s affections was described as an older, pale boy with faint freckles on his cheeks. He was given nothing more than that afterwards.

“So, is this what you call love, teacher?” Skipper repeated.

It took a few minutes for Eiji to ponder on the question before giving his student his most honest answer.

“It’s complicated.” The teacher began. “It’s not simply about liking someone. It’s…wanting to be around that person a lot and protecting them at all costs. They will mean more than anything else in the world. They will keep you grounded when you feel like you’re drifting away. In the same way, you would want them to think that of you.”

The young boy simply listened on, humming contently.

“They will be that person you want to share your awkward moments with. They will be that person who keeps you up at night.” As Eiji said this, his eyes were on Ash, who was chatting away with Shorter and Sing. “ _He_ will be that person who helps you up when you're down.”

Skipper watched a fond smile form on his teacher’s lips.

“Ohhh.” He drawled out. “That sounds very heavy.”

“It is.” The Asian replied earnestly. “But it is very rewarding given the perfect conditions.”

Skipper cocked his head to the side in wonder.

“Have _you_ been in love before, teacher?”

It did seem reasonable for the boy to shoot him that question, considering how much he rambled on about what love is. Technically, his answer would be a ‘yes’, but a debatable ‘yes’ at that. There was Aiko from grade school whom he crushed on badly, but she had found someone in middle school before he could confess. During his early time in New York, he had a bit of a fling with a tall, maroon-haired girl named Dulce, but that did not work out either as per usual with flings. He also had occasional crushes on a few people like honey-eyed Rose from a nearby coffee shop, curly-haired David from the barber shop he frequented in, sun-kissed Julia from a nearby arts school, and well-built Zack from the park.

However, all of these feelings were different from what he felt for Ash. While it was morally wrong for a teacher to develop any kind of feelings for a student, Eiji was only two years older than Ash and the latter was more attuned to his profession than the former. Moreover, Ash’s actions toward him, like giving his personal number and dancing _so close_  to him, only seemed to encourage his feelings to burst. Indeed, it felt complicated to describe exactly what he wanted from Ash.

“I…can’t tell.” Eiji finally spoke.

He concluded the water break and called everyone back to the session, all the while his head remained hazy in thought about love and Ash.

 

* * *

 

“Let me treat you to some coffee.”

It was past noon and by that time, the session was already done. The children were already packing up and going out, with the playful Skipper occasionally jabbing Michael at his shoulders and Sing telling them tasteless jokes that end up with all of them laughing. Shorter, who trailed behind Sing, shot Ash his usual toothed grin as he went out with the children.

“I’m sorry, could you repeat that?” Eiji was so lost in thought that he did not hear Ash talking.

The older Asian put his orange jacket back on and slung his duffel bag over his torso, turning off all the lights. Ash, who already had his backpack in tow, repeated his proposition.

“Let me buy us some coffee and lunch.”

This time, it was heard loud and clear. Without much else to do and much places to go, Eiji did not hesitate to take up the offer.

“Sure.”

And with that, the two locked the door behind them and departed for the nearest coffee shop.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh boy, this went for longer and quicker than I thought.  
> Also, good title is good title and croptop Eiji is life. -w-


	3. Conversation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A short chapter where Ash basically defends his precious tofu bread and has a bit of a moment.

“This is..”

The remaining words hung on the tip of Eiji’s tongue as he and Ash stopped in front of a very familiar coffee shop. It was a meek place made out of beige stone, which showed its age through its small tears and stains. The window glass remained pristine behind vanilla-hued stone frames, although there was the occasional scribble on the fogged up part of the glass. Above the two big windows are awnings adorned with terracotta tiles. To complete the look, there were crawling plants on the side and small hanged potted plants above the windows. For Eiji, it gave him a Mediterranean feel even if he had never cruised around Italy or Spain.

“You’ve been here before?” Ash queried, not looking at the other man.

“Cafe Italia…” The Asian man mumbled. “This is my favorite coffee place.”

The man did not notice the taller person’s jade eyes dilate at the second sentence, followed by a light flush of pink on his cheeks.

“Well then.” Ash lightly slapped his teacher’s back. “Let’s get ourselves some good Italian brew.”

The cafe bell sounded off as Eiji pushed open the glass door and stepped in with the blond man. The scent of freshly baked bread wafted around the area, giving the Asian man a sense of tranquility. Ash’s expression remained nonchalant, as the smaller man observed. The crowd was particularly few at this moment, to where Eiji discerned a number of regulars. One of them was a middle-aged man whose face was almost concealed by a science newsletter. Another one was an almond-haired man who was staring down at his cup of coffee.

“Eiji?” A familiar melodic voice rang from the counter.

It was honey-eyed Rose, who happened to be working on today’s shift and also happened to be one of Eiji’s small crushes. She waved politely as the two men approached the counter.

“How are you doing?” She quipped.

The Asian man then replied. “Well, something happened…ahem.” He eyed at Ash who was standing beside him immediately after fake coughing.

Rose’s honey eyes widened at the sight of the taller blond. “My my, who is he?”

“His name is Ash Lynx. He is a new student in my class.” Eiji immediately replied. “He happens to be a fellow professional dancer like…I was.” He faltered with his last words.

Referring to himself as a professional dancer seemed like a title Eiji did not deserve. Not anymore, at least, now that he had spent two stagnant years off-stage. However, with a seasoned and younger professional dancer like Ash around, the Asian began longing for the stage again. He could barely imagine how his comeback would look like on the headlines.

“Rose Dawson.” The honey-eyed lady extended her hand for a handshake.

“Rose from Titanic?” Ash commented, shaking the woman’s hand.

The honey-eyed woman simply laughed, withdrawing her hand. “A lot of people say that.”

She then turned to Eiji, who merely witnessed the entire exchange quietly.

“Did you say he’s a professional dancer? In your summer dance class?” Rose tilted her head in wonder, to which the Asian responded with a slow nod.

“I just felt like enrolling.” Ash shrugged as Rose turned to the man.

The woman straightened herself up, giving Eiji the impression that she snapped back to her professional self. She picked up a pen and paper from the counter cabinet below her.

“So, what would you two like to order?” She inquired, readying herself to write.

Before the smaller man could speak, Ash placed his calloused hand on the counter and shot Eiji a look that said “I’ll surprise you.” It was immediately understood.

“Two espressos, a blueberry cheesecake for teacher and a slice of tofu bread for me.” He swiftly spoke. Even as a Japanese, Eiji completely got wind of the order.

As honey-eyed Rose jotted the items down on her notes and jade-eyed Ash handed out his payment, the Japanese man secured a sofa seat at the corner and waited for his student and their food.

 

* * *

 

The tantalizing aroma of espresso pervaded around the cafe as the honey-eyed Rose whipped out two cups of said coffee for Ash and Eiji. Alongside them were two plates; one that had a classic blueberry cheesecake and one that merely had a single slice of tofu bread. 

Just tofu bread.

The tall blond placed their tray of edibles on their table before sitting together. When they settled, Eiji glanced miserably at the other man’s tofu bread.

“Are you really going to be okay with that?” He queried, his tone worried.

Ash was about to take a small bite of the bread. “Yeah.”

“No butter, no anything?” Eiji pressed.

“Nah.” With that casual retort, the blond man took in a small portion of the tofu bread.

Instead of minding his enticing cheesecake, the older m an watched Ash with his wide eyes as the latter took tiny bites out of his tofu bread. It looked like a pitiful sight, partly because __who on earth would order a slice of bread without any condiments__? Ash Lynx, apparently. Eiji’s gaze was so intent on the other man with him that he barely touched his blueberry cheesecake.

The Lynx noticed this.

“How about you?” He turned to Eiji. “Are you going to eat that?”

“Y-Yeah.” The Asian spluttered. “It is just…the tofu bread. It is….”

“What about it?” Ash shot back almost immediately, still chewing softly.

Eiji flinched before responding. “Nothing…”

Fortunately, the younger man did not press further on about tofu bread and finished the last few bites of the bread. They would have engaged themselves in an argument over tofu bread, otherwise. What an argument would that be.

After dropping the subject of tofu bread, Ash opened his mouth again to speak.

“Do you like Rose?”

Eiji felt his face burn upon hearing the question. Sure, he did like Rose, but not to the extent that he would ask her out. He admired Rose for the aspects where she shined brightly the most, notably the color of her eyes. Other than that, there was no basis for Eiji to actually pursue her romantically. Thinking this way, he managed to keep his rationality when he parted his lips for an answer.

“She is pretty cool, I guess…” He muttered, relishing a small piece of the cheesecake. “I admire her work ethic and her yellow eyes.”

He stated all of this while glancing at the person of interest behind the counter, which made him not catch the sight of Ash pouting in response.

“I see.” The blond man mused, blowing softly on his hot coffee before taking tentative sips.

Moments of awkward silence ensued after that as they both take sips of their espresso. Eiji would have sweat drops running down the side of his face from the tension if he were easily anxious. It was not until he was halfway to finishing his espresso that the taller man began to speak again.

“Do you know why I invited you out here?”

Huh. Now that he thought about it, Eiji did not particularly pay enough attention to wonder about that. His mind was muddled with convoluted feelings for Ash and with love in particular. He mused whether those two things are connected to each other, making barely any room for other thoughts to sink in.

Looking directly at those __beautiful__ jade irises, the Japanese man answered him.

“Tell me.”

A pale, calloused hand was on top of Eiji’s right hand where he held his fork. Ash’s stare was gentle, but serious. Something about this made the shorter man guess that what he was about to hear would matter.

“I want to know more about you.” The blond revealed. “You know…not as your student. Not as a fellow professional either, but just as I am. It’s been a few weeks since we’ve formally met and we’ve known nothing about each other. I simply find you… _ _interesting__.”

The younger man’s intrigue set Eiji on edge. Maybe he had watched too many crime thrillers with bad guys saying the exact same sentence in a sinister tone. However, Ash’s tone of voice was much softer, flirtatious even. Wait, what? Never mind his choice of words.

The main concern about this was why. A whole lot of why’s formed in Eiji’s head within seconds after hearing the younger man. What part of him was Ash interested in? Why him out of all people? Considering the events that had transpired, it all felt too opportunistic. It all felt wrong.

Yet here he was, gazing at those soft orbs of jade. Taken in by the nirvana that was Ash’s somewhat vulnerable expression, the Asian man simply gulped and took a deep breath. This was it. 

“Where do you want to start?”

 

* * *

 

Time had passed before they both knew it.

The sun was almost gone from the skies behind the window frame and only faint sunlight shone through the glass. The coffee shops patrons narrowed down to only three people including Ash and Eiji. Two empty plates and two empty paper cups rested on the table. Despite this, the two men had managed to keep up a heart-to-heart conversation.

Eiji had rambled on about his past crushes and romantic escapades, specifically dwelling on Aiko from grade school. He had rambled on about considering pole-vaulting if hip-hop dancing weren’t his first choice. He had even rambled about his ugly little sister, his meek mother and his loving yet ill father and how much he missed seeing them again. Word by word, he had unfolded little pieces of his life, being careful not to spill too much.

All that Ash did was listen intently.

When Eiji had finished, he had felt the other man’s calloused hands clutch his own hands on the table. This would have guaranteed a few repulsive stares from nearby onlookers, yet there was basically nobody around at this time.

“That’s quite an exciting life you’ve led so far..”

The Asian was taken aback by Ash’s comment. Nobody had ever told him his life was exciting. If anything, he led on a relatively normal life. Even as a former professional dancer with a level of fame, life did not give him the adrenaline rush he badly needed in his stagnant life. Maybe Ash’s presence might be the adrenaline he for long needed.

“It is all normal..” He responded resignedly, basking in the warm of the blond man’s hands.

“What are you saying?” Ash shot back not to hurt, but to drive a point. “You’re from Japan and you flew all the way here. You’ve set foot on another land!”

The wide-eyed Eiji wore an expression of shock upon hearing that come out of the younger man’s mouth. In a sense, the latter was right, but for the Asian man, it never felt special for him to set foot in America. Sure, he reveled in the newness of his environment for a little bit during his early years, but he never thought of flying to another country as a solid feat to brag about. Not at this point, at least.

“I guess you’re right.” He giggled in response. “I never realized that…”

He felt the grip on his hands tighten when the second sentence escaped from his lips.

__“Eiji.”_ _

Hearing only his name coming out from his student delivered a shock to him more than earlier. Usually, the smaller man would remind his students to call him ‘teacher’, but this was matters outside the classroom. This was not his student talking to him. This was __Ash Lynx,__ a fellow professional and essentially, a fellow __individual__.

“Eiji.” The blond man repeated. “There are many things in life people tend to overlook in terms of value. If you think about your disposition along with many others’, you’ll find that your life is a bit more blessed and exciting than you make it to be.”

Ash’s gaze continued to be fixed on the smaller man’s umber eyes.

“You have a loving family in Japan. I know you love each other very much. I mean…your father gave you that walkman to remember them by. They seem supportive of your dreams.” Eiji could sense the younger man choking back a sob. “On the other hand, I…grew feeling so disconnected.”

The blond man hung his head down, staring at his own calloused hands that still enveloped around the smaller man’s own hands.

“It is okay if you do not want to tell me about it.” Eiji withdrew a hand to overlap it with Ash’s hand. “But I would appreciate it.”

Moist jade irises stared back at the Asian, conveying a mixture of disbelief and hope. Without any word, he clung on to the fabric of the Asian’s orange jacket like his life depended on it. The older man let Ash bury himself in Eiji’s chest and weep.

All that the Asian man could do was comfort him by wrapping an arm around his large back until his tears stopped.

 

* * *

 

That night, Eiji Okumura could not sleep again.

The likely reason for this was Ash, but this time, he was hung over from the younger man’s breakdown at the coffee shop. It was uncanny to see a chill, maybe stoic celebrity crumble in front of him. At least he did not crumble in front of everybody else.

What did he mean by growing up feeling disconnected? Did Ash’s family not love him all the same? Did he have a history of abuse? All these questions and more flooded Eiji’s head to no end. However, his brain was tired from too much introspection for the day.

For two hours, he tossed and turned until he managed to succumb to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Ash. ;w;  
> What could he have gone through to end up the way he did?  
> -
> 
> This is originally intended to be a follow-up chapter for the previous one, but it somehow ended being an entirely new chapter on its own. Yay. :"0
> 
> Also, college doesn't give me mercy and dumps so much work on my plate, so expect a bit of a delay in updates.  
> I also thought on whether to provide cover art for all chapters or not, but then decided that I would update the chapters later on with them.  
> Hope y'all enjoy this!


	4. Static

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A long conversation between Ash and Eiji ensues, resolving the quiet tension left by the former's breakdown in Cafe Italia.
> 
> However, it seems as if nothing would stay peaceful forever.

Eiji found himself sinking into his sofa on a Thursday morning over a week later, having no scheduled class. The past couple of days have been quiet and dull ever since Ash’s breakdown at the coffee shop. Surely, the young man still showed himself in classes after, but he was unexpectedly silent. He was constantly zoning out during water breaks, ignoring everyone else unless Shorter or Sing snapped him out of it. In a certain extent, he was dismissive to Eiji, only responding as politely as possible if needed.

He did not have any important occasion for the day, so he spent some time picking out novels he shelved for later reading. Eiji was rather fond of the classics, though he began opening himself to other genres and books such as Chbosky’s _The Perks of Being a Wallflower_. He had been in New York for a few years at this point, having attained sufficient English education beforehand to appreciate English-language novels like the ones in his shelf.

When he had finished one novel, he slowly stood up to stretch, combating the soreness on his ass from sitting too long. Instead of sitting back down again, he headed to the kitchen to grab himself a mug. Making himself a cup of hot coffee, he simultaneously thought of Ash again. How was he faring?

With this nagging concern, he tried to dial in Ash’s number to check up on him, to no avail. He assumed the young man needed some space and Eiji respected that decision, except he dialed again. The second attempt had proven successful as he heard the recipient from the other end.

It was not Ash’s voice that met his ear, however.

“This is the Lynx’s personal landline.” A brash yet playful voice buzzed through the speaker. “What business you got here?”

The voice was eerily familiar, yet Eiji remained polite to be safe and sure.

“Um..this is Ash’s dance teacher, Eiji.” He slowly worded out. “I wanted to check up on him.”

“Oh, Eiji!” The voice chirped, ardent in his tempo to the point he was almost babbling. “About time you called! It’s Shorter, by the way. Ash is here at home, but he’s a little…dejected.”

Shorter? At Ash’s house? Somehow, Eiji knew it would make sense for one of Ash’s closest friends to be with him. At the same time, however, a mild pain coursed through the Asian man upon realizing the Chinese man’s position. It was a kind of pain he had never experienced, though he could vaguely remember feeling the same pain throughout the time he was crushing on Aiko.

Oh no.

“Is he taking care of himself, at least?” He asked, brushing away the mild pain with a pat on his own shoulder.

A moderate pause. “Yeah. He’s doing fine.” He felt a playful smile forming on Shorter’s face.

The tone of the Chinese man’s voice took a complete shift, however, with his next few words.

“Does his sour mood have anything to do with you?”

He felt cornered like a gladiator in an arena of lions. It was most likely true that Ash’s unusual character from the past few days had something to do with Eiji. Yet, the way the Chinese man on the other end of the phone asked him was spine-chilling at best.

“Um..” He prompted himself to explain, but Shorter seemed to have noticed his hesitance.

“No fear, man.” The Chinese man perked up. “I’m just looking out for my best friend. Besides, I know it’s something to do with you. I’m only playing.”

_Oh._

Before Eiji could say anything, a background voice on the other end yelled from across the area. Though the voice was muffled from the distance, he was sure that it was Ash. The source of the background voice sounded like he was heading toward the phone while conversing with Shorter. For a moment, the conversation remained indecipherable for Eiji, assuming that the Chinese man had extended the phone away from him and his friend.

“...h-old on, hold on. I-” It seemed like Ash just snatched the phone from his Chinese friend, the former’s voice growing louder and clearer.

“See you in a bit!” Shorter’s voice was slowly growing quieter but not before he yelled back. “Talk it out!!”

As muffled footsteps in the background grew quieter, so did the two people who were on the phone. While Eiji knew what to say, he could not help but feel the tension permeating from Ash on the other end. Nevertheless, the Asian pushed himself to let out what he needed to let out.

“Ash?”

“Oh…I didn’t expect for you to call…” The blond man mumbled. “But…I’m not complaining.”

Eiji found the corners of his lips crease into a soft smile. “I am glad you are picking up.”

His soft expression soon turned into one of concern, his brows creased together in certain distress for Ash.

“But Ash. Please tell me if there is something wrong.” He implored. “I have noticed how you seemed gloomy for the past couple of days. As your teacher and friend, I am worried.”

A few seconds of silence.

“You don’t have to worry about me.” Ash finally replied. “I’ve only had a lot to think about.”

Somehow, Eiji wanted more answers. “Was it about what happened in Cafe Italia?”

The Asian man felt as if he had hit a nerve in Ash, because the man on the other end went silent for a longer period of time. He regretted probing his student and friend more, but at the same time, he had to know what trouble was plaguing his friend.

“Yes…”Ash mumbled. “You stirred me up with what you told me, but I went a bit overboard. I’m sorry.”

The wide-eyed Eiji shot back a response. “Why are you apologizing? I am the one who pushed you to tears that day.”

“I’m the one who took it too deeply.” Ash cleared his throat.

More silence. There was no use arguing whoever gets to say sorry rightfully. Looking at this as objectively as Eiji could, both of them were at fault. For him, it was a lack of appreciation for all the steps he took to get to where he was now. And for Ash, it was sentimentalism. Despite not wanting to pursue an argument, there was still another concern nagging the Asian and that was what Ash meant when he said he grew feeling disconnected. Even if it could possibly mean stepping on another landmine, the wide-eyed Eiji took a leap of faith.

“Ash.” He began, swallowing audibly. “Please do not get angry, but what made you take deep into heart what I said?”

There was more stillness after that. Neither of them knew what to say now and what to say next. Might as well hang up than maintain the growing tension. However, the younger man’s voice was heard once again, though softly.

“I feel like answering that would be too soon.” He replied, clearly uncomfortable to reveal anything. “I don’t want to talk about my family yet…”

At this, Eiji only nodded understandably to himself.

“I will respect your choice.” He told the younger man in a mellow manner. “You can talk about it if you are ready. Know that I will always be there for you.”

More silence between them filled the air, this time with less tension. Letting Ash hear those words felt like some form of resolution for both of them. The older man was relieved to feel that the younger blond had decompressed over the other end, manifested by the latter’s calm exhalation as his voice was heard again.

“.…..I take it that we’re good?” Ash hoped for a confirmation. “I swear I don’t often get this emotional over those sorts of things.”

“Mhmm.” A content smile etched itself on the Asian man’s face.

He heard a small sigh from the other end, though the sigh did not seem to be directed right at the mouthpiece of the phone as it was soft.

“How are you there?” Ash queried after a small pause.

His mood change was like flipping a switch, which Eiji did not bother to question. At least the younger man felt much better. However, the wide-eyed Asian could not help but think this was a problem covering a much bigger problem. For Ash’s sake, he shook off such thoughts and simply went with the flow of the conversation.

“Kinda boring.” The Asian man set his empty mug down on the end table near the wall phone.

“Mind if I amuse you with two truths and a lie?” He could feel Ash’s grin through his voice.

Eiji laughed at the younger man’s choice of words. “Surprise me.”

With the man’s choice of words, he could feel the other man smirk deviously. “Sure then.”

An expectant breath escaped the Asian’s lips, anticipating for somehow a story that would make him jump out of his non-existent socks.

“Here are my statements. First, I have played the knife game several times and still have my fingers intact and free of wounds.” Ash began. “Second, I don’t like pumpkins. Third, I have danced to Dancing Queen at one point.”

Trying not to laugh at the thought of Ash dancing to Dancing Queen, Eiji began to single out the lie in his head. The first one seemed something that could be true to Ash, as the young man looked like the kind of person who would occasionally play with knives. However, remembering his calloused hands on Eiji’s hips from that time, he felt the statement was unlikely to be a truth.

He next deduced that the second statement, picking up on Ash’s repulsion in his tone of voice, was a definite truth. Eiji kept in mind to ask him about it again later on if it did turn out to be true.

The last statement was a difficult one for the older man to crack. While Eiji could imagine the younger man dancing to such a song, it sort of clashed with the cool exterior that Ash had. If anything, Ash was more of a king to him than a _queen_. Since Eiji already discovered one lie, he took a leap of faith and assumed the Dancing Queen statement was true.

“Okay, so I think the knife statement is a lie.” The older man began. “Because I saw callouses on specific places on your fingers.”

“...go on…” Ash’s tone rose higher, intrigued at what Eiji would say next.

“And people can only get those callouses from playing the guitar.” Eiji explained. “I do not think a guitar player would want to risk severing their fingers in a knife game.”

“Which leaves pumpkin and Dancing Queen to be the two truths.” The older man finished.

A brief pause.

“Wow, okay. First of all, how did you notice my callouses?” Ash pretended to be serious. Eiji could feel him pouting on the other end. “And second of all, you’ve guessed everything right.”

The wide-eyed Eiji did not stop his lips that formed into a satisfactory smirk, which softened when he thought about how he knew about callouses from prolonged guitar playing.

“My sister Emi-chan is actually a guitar player.” The older man fondly recalled. “She entered music competitions in her school with her guitar covers and won a lot of awards from them.”

“Sounds like a prodigy.” Ash quipped.

“She is..” Eiji’s tone of voice faltered.

The younger man over the other end seemed to have noticed this, but decided not to press any further. “Are you okay?”

“Ah yes, this is just me getting a bit sentimental.” The Asian babbled. “I will be fine.”

The two let a few seconds of stillness take place before Ash spoke again.

“Do you have your two truths and one lie?” He asked.

Well, __crap__. They were still playing the game and somehow, Eiji forgot about it in a moment until the other man brought it up.

“Sorry, sorry. I forgot for a moment..” Eiji scratched the back of his head.

“You always apologize for the smallest things.” He could hear the blond man’s chuckle.

“Sorry-”

“There it is again.”

Eiji gave himself a mental slap at that moment. He then began to come up with his statements for Ash to guess. Since the Asian had shared a good part of his life to Ash, it was harder to think of something the younger man has yet to know at this time. However, he managed to dig deep in himself and structured his three statements.

“Okay. Here are my statements. First, I have a Polaroid 600 camera. Second, I chipped my nail once in middle school. Third, I wear contacts.”

Supposedly, the second statement was the lie. Eiji was particular with his nails in fear of snapping them when they got too long, earning a handful of teasing from fellow boys at the time. He had even developed a nail biting tic that he carried with him to New York. Nobody had commented about it, so the habit only persisted. It was only now that Eiji became aware of it again.

“I say the second statement is the lie.” He heard Ash guess. “And the other two are the truths.”

Like a mind-reader did he guess all that correctly.

“Wow.” Was all that Eiji could say.

“That’s only a lucky guess..” The younger man muttered. “But really? You have a camera?”

"Mhmm." Eiji hummed, looking at the camera sitting on his shelf. "Though I only use it when I feel like it."

It felt relieving to be able to talk to Ash. To hear his husky voice over the other end seemed like a privilege, especially with Shorter mentioning much early on that he rarely gave his personal number out to anyone. Moreover, conversations with Ash egged him to keep on talking, which never happened with anyone else. No matter how high his phone bill could probably get from this long exchange, Eiji would manage if it meant talking to Ash.

“Are you going to be okay?” The blond man asked again.

The Asian simply smiled, even if the other person would not be able to see it. “Of course I will be.”

“I almost forgot. I have an errand to run tonight.” Ash uttered. “We’ll talk again in class tomorrow, no?”

“I’ll look forward to it!” Eiji chirped.

“Yeah, see you tomorrow.” The other man’s tone was mellow. “I’m sorry for spiking up your phone bill, by the way.”

With that, he hung up. When Eiji hung up as well, he picked up the long-empty mug sitting on the end table and sauntered to the sink. Letting the tap water gush out, he whistled a small tune from his childhood, happily thinking about seeing Ash again tomorrow in his class.

Wait.

Becoming aware of how much his brain had been occupied with Ash nowadays, the Asian turned redder than the color of the sunset outside his apartment window. Not even he thought of Aiko this much when he was on his knees for her. Maybe this was the real thing?

As a result, he attempted to divert his thoughts from Ash by sinking his teeth into more books until the late night came.

 

* * *

 

The next morning, Eiji Okumura arrived just in time at his studio. He had almost slept in from reading too many novels the night before, so his morning routine was haphazard. However, he was on time, though looking a bit more unkempt than usual. He was on the foot of the stairs, dusting off his loose jeans and black shirt.

As he began his climb up the stairs, Michael and Skipper were chatting away by the locked door. Noticing their dance teacher a few steps away, the two children decided to include him in their banter.

“Teacher!” They simultaneously greeted him.

“Ah, hello kids!” The Asian man winced, surprised by their sudden voices.

He proceeded to unlock the door and stepped in, with the two kids following behind him. As usual, the studio was thankfully spotless. Nothing new was of note, though the older man felt strangely relieved to step back inside his studio and set down his duffel bag on the usual spot. Maybe it would help clear his mind a bit more.

“You look messy, teacher.” Michael pointed out rather bluntly.

“I was in a hurry.” Eiji simply laughed off the awkwardness.

The freckled boy exhaled with a smile. “Hope you’re doing okay, teacher.”

The word ‘okay’ brought subtle chills on the older Asian’s shoulders, as if a ghost was touching him with cold, non-corporeal hands. Ash often asked for his well-being even if he was also suffering, which he never noticed in anyone else but Ash. Now, he could not ever associate the word ‘okay’ with anyone else but Ash.

“Of course.” Eiji answered both Michael and his own thoughts.

Speaking of the blond man, he hadn’t stepped in the room even after a few minutes have passed. No faint sound of outside footsteps either. It was a weird feeling since Ash was always around before the session began, even during the days prior to their talk on the landline. The same could be said for Sing and Shorter, both who also did not come in as usual.

However, no matter how this worried Eiji, he did not have a choice but to push through the session with only two people.

 

* * *

 

It was water break when Michael approached his teacher again.

“Did something happen to Ash and Sing?” He queried.

Eiji wished he knew what exactly happened to answer the freckled boy, but he had nothing substantial to offer him. Ash’s absence was as equally perplexing as the Asian’s own feelings for him. In regard to Sing and Shorter to some extent, he also found himself just as worried.

“That I do not know.” The older man replied with a troubled tone. “But I hope they are fine.”

Upon hearing this, the freckled boy sat beside his teacher as Skipper frolicked around the room. The two were in a contemplative state, bearing different wavelengths and different thoughts. It did not take long before Eiji spoke again, this time of Michael’s current state.

“Are you not going to join him?” He turned to the pale, freckled boy beside him.

“No.” The boy hugged his knees, resting his chin on his arms. “I just like to sit down sometimes.”

“Oh.” Was only Eiji’s response, trying his hardest not to probe him for more answers out of growing concern.

The air in the room remained still until the end of the break. It did not help in quelling Eiji’s worry, noticeable by the way his brows creased. Things were indeed too different without Ash, Sing and Shorter around. Not only the older man felt it, but the kids did too.

 

* * *

 

Eiji decided to dismiss his students a few minutes earlier, not being able to focus due to the worry that had been eating at him. The three subjects of his worry were still absent without any indication of why. Even if they had been dancing, the Asian remained restless on his feet.

Coming out of the restroom from a brief wee, he walked toward his duffel bag and slung it around his shoulder. However, Shunichi Ibe suddenly popped out from outside when the young man opened the door, making both of them jump back.

“Ibe-san??” Eiji almost shrieked. “You scared me!”

“Goodness, I’m so sorry!” The middle-aged man made frenzied gestures to show this. “I was in a rush because it seems urgent for you to know about this.”

Eiji’s wide eyes stared back at the older man, alarmed by what the man just said. Usually, as far as urgent news was concerned, it often meant something bad happened. He hoped it was something far more pleasing than what may come out of Ibe’s mouth next, yet it was wishful thinking to hope for it.

“I was going to claim a table at a nearby Chinese restaurant for lunch with a friend.” The older man began to narrate. “But I noticed it wasn’t the usual lady who was hosting us, so I asked about her.”

Despite Eiji’s patience wearing thin from worry, the younger man continued to listen.

“And the sub host said she had gone to look after her brother, Shorter.” The mention of Shorter startled the younger man. “Apparently, something happened to him, but I wasn’t provided with anything else at that point. Nevertheless, I had to eat quickly and run here to tell you, because I think Shorter’s also your student?”

Eiji tensed up. Something happened to Shorter, which was most likely to be a bad thing. The raven-haired Asian hoped desperately it was not something terrible. At the same time, however, he also crossed his fingers.

“Thank you for telling me this, Ibe-san.” The young man did not even look at Ibe as he said this. “Also, he only hangs out around here, but..”

Eiji could not find the next few words to say, so he decided to ask. “Do you know where he could be?”

“Sadly, no.” The older Asian was both befuddled and concerned. “I tried to ask the sub host again, but he wouldn’t reveal anything. I’m sorry.”

__Darn._ _

Eiji placed his hand on the light switch and turned off all the lights. “It is alright. I will try to find it out on my own.”

As the two Japanese men stepped out of the room, the younger man locked the door behind him. The two made their descent downstairs together in resigned quietness, as both of them knew it was no time for cordial conversation. As they exited the building, they bade each other an non-resolute goodbye before parting ways.

“Please be careful!” Ibe shouted when the two had a considerable distance between them.

“Thank you! You as well!” Eiji shouted back.

The two continued on their separate ways, with the younger man running back to his apartment. He had no clear idea why he was sprinting, but his feet were carrying him in that worrisome pace.

 

* * *

 

Eiji slammed his door shut and frantically did his locks, dropping his duffel bag on the floor with a thud. His restlessness from worry was getting the best of him, so he took deep breaths to settle down even for a bit. He found himself momentarily slouching down on the floor from exhaustion, picking himself up after a few minutes of heavy breathing.

His first tendency at this time was contacting Ash’s landline. If anyone knew better what could have happened to Shorter, it was Ash. However, before he could press a number, he spotted the light blinking for voicemail, indicating that he got one. He carefully entered his password to access it, granting him a notification for one voicemail.

_“You have a new message. Press ‘1’ to record the message, Press ‘2’ to pause playback of message, Press ‘3’-”_

He immediately pressed the right key to hear the voicemail’s contents. The beginning of the playback was signified by a low sigh from Ash himself. In the background, the Asian could hear echoing P.A. speakers and a lot of chattering. He braced himself for the worst.

“Hi, Eiji. If you’re hearing this, I want to apologize first for not notifying you beforehand about my absence from your class. I’ll apologize on Sing’s behalf as well. He’s here with me right now.”

The wide-eyed Eiji took an audible gulp as Ash paused, hearing a loud sniffle before the latter spoke again. His fears were confirmed by hearing what the young man had to say next.

“It’s about Shorter.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How to write conversations over the phone, I wonder... ;w;  
> Also, ending on a cliffhanger?? How dare you??  
> What on earth happened to Shorter??
> 
> Stay tuned in for chapter 5, which is already in the works!
> 
> (On another note, I'll drop the idea of providing cover arts for the chapters, as I'm having difficulty to draw lately. There's also the matter of meeting deadline for zines and stuff. ;w;  
> If you guys still want them, let me know!)


	5. Drive

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A bad time opens a door to soft moments and hard questions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been busy with college a lot lately, so I'm sorry if I take too long on updates.  
> I hope you enjoy this one! I made it a bit longer than I intended to.

It was 3:23PM.

 

Eiji Okumura found himself in the backseat of a cab, heading toward the East Village of Manhattan. The wide-eyed Asian was rigid in his posture, earning the unwanted concern of the cab driver. The driver was a brunet man with a scruffy beard who rather looked like a lumberjack than a cab driver.

 

“How are you over there?” The driver asked, though with no genuine expression of concern. “You seem a lil ‘stiff on the shoulders, son.”

 

“I only had a long day of work. Thank you for worrying.” Eiji responded in his earnest.

 

In reality, he was filled with dread and worry after hearing via voicemail about Shorter’s circumstances. He hoped the Chinese man would be fine by the time he would arrive at his destination.

 

-

 

__“_ It’s about Shorter.”_

_He was right. Something did happen to him, but then what is it? The P.A. speakers and the excess chattering in the background provided him some hints, but he needed to explicitly know. His excessive worry was muddling his mind to make decent connections to patch together his context clues._

_“He…got into an accident on the road.”_

_Eiji’s eyes shrunk to pinpricks. As Ash revealed this slowly, grief built up inside the Asian man along with worry and anger. Road accidents around this time were quite common, so he became a bit desensitized to news about it. However, in this case where one of his friends got involved, it was a different matter altogether. It was more difficult to digest than the bold letters of the newspaper headlines._

_“He wasn’t badly injured, but if there was some way to save him before this…I would.”_

_Despite not being there, he could feel Ash choking back a sob through the anguish in his voice. He wished he could teleport to where the young man was and wipe his tears. He wanted to be there for him so Ash may have a shoulder or chest to cry into again. The incident felt as if it happened too soon and it happened to the one who did not deserve to get hurt. Perhaps like the young man in the recording, Eiji had a plethora of questions forming in his head, cursing the tides of fate for bringing an untimely predicament to someone as young and kind as Shorter._

_“He’s admitted into a hospital around the East Village. You also might want to write this next part down.”_

_The nearby end table’s only drawer fortunately supplied Eiji an easy access to a pen and paper. As he set down the objects and prepared himself to write, Ash slowly dictated to him the exact address of the hospital. The place was a considerable distance from his home in Little Italy, meaning he had to call a cab to go there._

_“By the time you received this message, I might still be around. I hope I’ll see you.”_

_The recording ended at that note in an instant, though Eiji took a few minutes to process the heavy news his ears had just witnessed. Not wasting any second, he hurriedly tossed in new clothes and left with his wallet in tow, not bothering to properly put his used clothes in the hamper._

_It was 1:47PM when he departed._

__

__-_ _

__

It was 3:45PM when Eiji finally arrived to his destination.

 

The hospital was located around the 1st Avenue, granting him a few good minutes of walking from where he was dropped. The exercise was much appreciated for clearing his mind of other troubles, though it did not completely quell his worry for Shorter. He muttered mental prayers in hopes for the Chinese man to be fine and alive.

 

As he found himself in front of the glass door, he reminisced about the many times he had smelled the hospital air. One of those times was Emi-chan’s birth over a decade ago, a miracle he would fondly remember even if he continued to call her ugly to this day. On the gloomier side of things, hospitals reminded him of his ill father, who he last saw confined back in Japan due to lung problems. He occasionally regretted about coming to New York, but his father kept pushing him to pursue the international dancing scholarship he was granted.

 

Eiji took it not without salt, failing to bid his bedridden father a goodbye before he flew away. He wondered how his father was doing right now, his well-being continuously being reported to him through letters sent by Emi-chan. Judging from the content of her recent letters, his father was at a stagnant point, not getting worse and yet not also getting any better. It was just like his dance career.

 

He further wondered how his father would have felt knowing his son had stepped down from the professional world of dancing.

 

Shaking these thoughts aside, he pushed the glass doors open and let the familiar hospital scent take him in once again.

 

-

 

The reception area had a moderate amount of people, thus he had to wait for a few minutes to be catered to. Eiji considered himself as a patient person, but in dire situations such as this one, he could barely stop his foot from tapping incessantly on the tiled floor. Fortunately, no one seemed to muster up any guts to comment on it.

 

Before his mind drifted off again, he was now standing directly in front of the reception table.

 

“Good afternoon, sir! What can I help you with?” The young lady behind the counter asked, giving him the customer-friendly smile. Strangely, it was one of his pet peeves, but he knew it existed for a reason.

 

Eiji did not waste a single slick of spit. “Is somebody named Shorter Wong currently admitted here? I am a visiting friend.”

 

“Oh, let me see.” The nurse skimmed through her documents. “Ah yes. He is currently staying in room 216. He was rushed in here a few hours ago, around 9:45AM.”

 

That was the time when he already held his usual class.

 

“Thank you very much.” The young Asian lightly bowed as a custom and went on his way.

 

-

 

The white halls he had to traverse through were only mildly populated, usually by people in their seats waiting for their turns for their routine checkup. Most of them were young adults and elders, some of them with children. They looked relatively fine, though he could hear a few sniffles and coughs every now and then.

 

“...214…215…216….. “Eiji tracked the number plates on the doors with his pointing finger, searching for a 218.

 

He had to turn a left corner to spot 218, which was tucked in nicely near the end of the hall where the ICU was.

 

“218.” The man mumbled under his breath.

 

Ever since he discovered about Shorter’s situation through Ash, the younger Asian had been consistently restless in his pace. However, finally being in front of the Chinese man’s hospital room made him hesitant. What would Eiji say? Would Ash and maybe Sing be still around?

 

Wiping the beads of sweat forming on his forehead, he gently knocked on the door.

 

“Um…this is Eiji Okumura. Is there anybody around?” He inquired, keeping his voice moderate.

 

The response was not immediate as it took a few moments before Sing carefully slid the door ajar, peeking at his teacher.

 

“Ah, Eiji.” The young boy looked tired, his eyes red and puffy from tears. “He’s asleep right now.”

 

“May I…come in?” The older Asian was pensive.

 

Without further word, Sing slid the door open and let Eiji step inside, closing the door again when the older Asian was a few feet away from the door.

 

The Japanese man surveyed the room before approaching Ash, who was snoring away with his head down beside Shorter. The small room was relatively clean, with the curtains looking like they have been changed recently. The tiled floor below him shone from polish, though it fortunately was not slippery. No other sound echoed around the room except for Shorter’s heart rate monitor on the corner, the machine quietly beeping to indicate the man’s steady heart rate.

 

Other than Ash’s backpack and Sing’s sling bag tucked in another corner of the room, it was yet another hospital room.

 

“Sing, have you eaten anything?” Eiji asked, soft enough for the boy to hear but to not stir Ash or Shorter awake.

 

“Only a couple of fruits and some cup ramen.” The younger boy replied, bringing out a banana from his own bag. “How about you?”

 

“I have only eaten my breakfast from earlier..”

 

The older man had forgotten his hunger from growing worry over Shorter. In the middle of the road traffic on his way to the hospital, he swore he heard his stomach grumbling. He denied this, though, when the driver asked him about it.

 

“I’ll get you something from the nearby vending machine. You okay with that?” Sing turned his back to his teacher, fully intent to carry on what he offered.

 

“You do not have to do that..” Eiji stuttered, carefully pulling out an extra chair near the restroom.

 

“I insist. It’s not like I’m giving you a three-course meal or anything.” The young boy jested, to which his teacher softly chuckled at in response.

 

“Okay, okay. Thank you.” Eiji smiled at his student, who went out after giving him the banana.

 

He was now left alone with Ash and Shorter, both who were asleep. In this particular moment, his thoughts wandered as he scanned Shorter’s figure with his eyes. The Chinese man’s expression was peaceful, as if he was merely asleep in his own bed. It would have been true if it weren’t for the nasal cannula on his nostrils and the bandages around his exposed legs. Even if Eiji had visited hospitals frequently throughout his lifetime, he had never seen something like this. He uttered a quick mental prayer in hopes for Shorter’s speedy recovery.

 

His train of thought was cut off when Ash slowly stirred awake.

 

The blond man turned his face to Eiji, his eyes redder and puffier from crying. His lemon-hued hair struck out in many places, contributing to his overall disheveled appearance. The younger man had slipped on a slightly oversized shirt and a darker pair of ripped jeans, finished off with red, untied sneakers.

 

Ash opened his mouth to speak, but no sound came out as his throat was rather dry.

 

“I’ll get you some water.” Eiji stood up and did so, spotting a water bottle sticking out of Ash’s backpack. He did not notice therefore how Ash’s arm was weakly reaching out to him.

 

As he handed the young man the bottle of water, Eiji decided to quietly scoot his seat closer to Ash. Their knees bumped as the younger man sat back up properly to drink.

 

“How are you doing?” The Asian asked out of obligation, though he knew how the younger man was feeling.

 

The blond man took a long sip from his water bottle before finally speaking. “I’m doing better, but this all feels…too soon.”

 

Eiji let his hand rest on his friend’s back. “I know.”

 

“I want to make the perpetrator pay for what he did.” Ash clenched his fists on his lap. “Shorter didn’t do anything to deserve the state he’s in now.”

 

“Do you plan to take this up to court?” The wide-eyed Asian was alarmed by the young man’s words.

 

The blond man simply nodded. “His insurance payment is not going to bring back my best friend’s legs for the season.”

 

At first, the statement came off as confusing. Though upon realizing what Ash was implying by his statement, a feeling of fear rushed through him. While Eiji was thankful that the accident did not take Shorter’s life, it took something else in turn that was presumably just as important to the latter. With the Chinese man’s crippled state, he was benched for the next season or two.

 

As a dancer himself, Eiji quickly understood the gravity of Shorter’s predicament. Losing his legs even temporarily meant potentially losing everything he had worked so hard for, though the thought of that happening to him had been far off his mind. It was until seeing Shorter embody his very fear that he became conscious of it again. Thankfully, the injury Shorter sustained was not permanent, but it would be bad for his muscle memory. A chill ran down Eiji’s spine as the fear sunk itself in.

 

“But technically, the driver at fault would already be arrested at this point.” The smaller man retorted. “Would the thought of him rotting in prison not be enough for you?”

 

Ash scoffed. “The man has money on him. He could bail himself as soon as his Gucci boots touch the damned floor. Bail or not, this is most likely gonna end up in the courthouse.”

 

Eiji simply stayed quiet. The blond man was somehow right, but there has to be a way to not complicate things as to take the situation to the courthouse. He always hated complicated things, which led him to think of himself as an incompetent adult. However, if this was where the situation was heading, then he might as well have no choice.

 

“What are you going to do?” He managed to Ash.

 

Ash did not look at his friend in the eyes. “Like I said, I’m taking this up to court.”

 

“No, I mean Shorter.” The older man’s brows slightly creased in concern. “He is not gonna be able to dance this season, can he?”

 

The younger man simply trained his intense, musing gaze on his sleeping best friend. “I know. It’s also hard for me to let that sink in, but I know. That doesn’t mean I’ll abandon him.”

 

Ash placed a hand on top of Shorter’s. “He’s been my friend through thick and thin…”

 

Letting the scene unfold before Eiji’s dark eyes, he heard the door sliding open. It was not Sing, though, who was in front of the door. It was a small woman with short, ebony hair. The color of his irises reminded Eiji of his own, though hers was a few shades lighter than his. She was wearing a white, elbow-length shirt and a pair of blue jeans, finishing the look with short beige boots. Her complexion was similar to Shorter’s.

 

“Ash, are you-” She halted herself upon laying her eyes on Eiji.

 

Awkward tension quickly settled in the air. The woman’s soft eyes merely stared at him. However, before the air between the two strangers got worse, Ash broke it by giving Eiji a light slap on his shoulder. The action prompted the older man to speak.

 

“Um…I am Eiji Okumura, Ash’s dance teacher. I am also a friend of Shorter, who hangs around a lot whenever I conduct classes.” He turned to introduce himself rather formally out of awkwardness.

 

Hearing this seemed to have made the woman soften up as she stepped in the room. Before proceeding, she gently closed the door behind her. She spent the next few minutes surveying Eiji, though not to the degree the man felt uncomfortable with.

 

“Ah, so you’re Eiji.” The woman’s lips turned into an ‘o’, approaching him a step closer. “Shorter has been telling me a lot about you.”

 

Her chipper tone gradually shifted to a neutral one as she continued. “I’m Nadia Wong, his older sister. I never thought our first meeting would be like this.” As some sort of formality, she extended her hand to Eiji for a handshake.

 

“Nice to meet you.” The man shook her hand. “I also did not expect this kind of meeting either.”

 

Hmm. He could recall Ibe mentioning that the usual person hosting the tables in a Chinese restaurant was a woman who took a leave to tend to Shorter. Additionally, Ibe implied a sibling relationship between her and Shorter. She must be the one who the older man was bringing up earlier.

 

“This must be unfortunate for you. I am so sorry.” Eiji’s eyes glanced at Shorter.

 

Nadia only breathed out. “I know. I just hope my brother gets well.”

 

She turned to the lunch bag she was holding, a purple one with small bright yellow stripes on it. On the bottom right lid of the bag, the initials “S.W.” had been written in lightly smudged black marker. The overall appearance looked like it had been used for a long period of time, presumably back at Shorter’s early childhood.

 

She slid the zipper to open the bag, revealing a rice meal packed in a plastic food box. It looked as if it was fresh out of the stove, even in its compressed state. The faint smell of the food soon spread around the room, with Eiji finding himself nearly salivating by the delicious aroma of the food. The smell also happened to stir Shorter slowly awake, the anesthesia itself wearing off.

 

“Shorter!” Ash immediately turned to see his friend blink groggily.

 

“That smells goood.” The Chinese man grinned, the side effects of the anesthesia slurring his speech.

 

“I brought you some lunch, brother.” Nadia smiled fondly, thankful that her brother was awake.

 

Eiji’s ears picked up on the word ‘lunch’. Has Shorter not eaten anything for hours? How long has the man been sedated from anesthetic? Worriedly, he sat back on his seat near Shorter. At the same time, Sing happened to come back, only this time having a bunch of snacks in his tiny arms. This clearly did not deter him to open the door, however.

 

“Yo, I’m back-” Sing stopped himself upon seeing Nadia and the now groggy Shorter.

 

The woman raised a quizzical brow at the young boy. Her expression staled at the sight of the chip bags and carbonated drinks in his arms.

 

“You know you’re gonna get fat with that, right?” Nadia said rather bluntly.

 

The young boy simply put down the junk food at a corner with a disdained look. “It’s mainly for Eiji if you’re asking.”

 

Hearing the boy say this somehow provoked the Japanese teacher. Eiji was definitely not one to simply pig himself out, unless it was followed by some exercise right after. Even if he was hungry, he would not be careless as to let in excess calories in his body.

 

“I haven’t eaten a thing..” He quipped, following by a soft giggle.

 

He could have sworn he saw Ash blush for a bit within his field of vision. Picking up a bag of low-calorie chips and a drink from the corner, Eiji turned to Shorter, who had been babbling quite a lot of nonsense about the hospital curtains and how he wished to burn them for “mocking him.”

 

“Is this the first time he woke up?” He queried, concern growing in his features.

 

“Yeah..” Nadia directed her gaze on her brother. “He’s been asleep for a couple of hours.”

 

Shorter bobbed his head forward upon realizing the two were talking about him. Strands from his purple mohawk fell flat on his face.

 

“Hmmm what are you two talking about?” He drawled.

 

“We’re just glad you’re somehow alright.” Eiji heaved a sigh of relief, handing Shorter his opened packed lunch from his sister.

 

The Chinese man had stars in his eyes, mostly because of his dazed state. He clumsily grabbed his lunch, with some grains of rice and drops of sauce falling on the sheets. His sister quickly went to his aid, but Shorter merely stared at her.

 

“Whoooo are yooou?” He slurred, picking up a grain of rice on his lap.

 

“I’m your big sister.” She glared at her brother, trying her best to keep in mind that this was one of the after-effects of anesthesia. “I made you some food, but look at what you did.”

 

Her tone was playful and her brother immediately noticed this. They both laughed. Nadia then picked up a spoon from the lunch box and attempted to spoon-feed her brother. She was met with endearingly immature protests, though.

 

“Noooo…I’m already 21…” Shorter turned his head away, trying to avoid the spoon like a child trying to be fed with broccoli. “I can eat by mu selff….”

 

The woman huffed in feigned annoyance. “You’re only going to spill more. Let me help you.”

The Japanese man tried not to laugh, though Sing let his own loose. Ash was making the ugliest face Eiji had seen so far, trying to suppress a laugh as well. Eventually, everyone burst into a fit of giggles and laughs, while Shorter’s voice slurred in the background in retaliation.

 

“Noooouuuu…….” Shorter whined.

 

Everyone picked up chairs to group around Shorter, who was pouting from all the teasing. The laughing still ensued, which took about five minutes to die down. After a few more minutes, the side effects of the anesthesia have fortunately worn off. The Chinese man was no longer slurring or having slight memory loss. This was manifested by his change of expression, turning his pout into a relaxed smile.

 

“Aw, looks like it worn off.” Sing pointed out, pretending to feel disappointed.

 

“Yup.” Shorter flashed his cousin a thumbs up, convincing Nadia to hand over the spoon and the lunch.

 

The Chinese man savored the smell before he dug in, signaling Eiji and the rest to eat up. The Japanese man popped open the bag of low-calorie chips and ate slowly. Sing followed suit with a bag of honey butter chips. On the other hand, Nadia and Ash only picked up energy drinks.

 

Minutes after, Shorter managed to finish every single grain of rice, essentially cleaning the Tupperware of spare chunks of food. Eiji was merely halfway through the chips while everyone else had finished. He noticed earlier on, however, that Ash drank a quarter of his drink before closing the bottle and stashing it in his backpack. A moment of distill took over the room, until Ash twitched. It was as if he just remembered something.

 

“Ah…I have an errand today.” His tone was glum. “Sorry, Shorter. Everyone.”

 

He and Shorter embraced. While he also embraced everyone else, it was only Eiji’s cheek whom Ash caressed with his calloused fingers. The Japanese man flushed a faint scarlet as the others looked on with shock. The gentle wind outside began to blow the other way.

 

“See you.” Ash slung one shoulder strap of his backpack over his shoulder and left.

 

Minutes after the young man’s abrupt departure, Shorter was the first to speak. “Wow, he _likes_ you.” Eiji blushed redder in response.

 

Sing and Nadia stepped in to comfort him, with the woman opening her mouth to talk. “Don’t worry about us seeing that. We’re not homophobic.” The younger boy quietly agreed by patting his teacher on the shoulder.

 

“It was just surprising to see him do that.” Nadia continued. “He’s not usually that affectionate to his friends.” At this, Shorter playfully acted sour.

 

“I mean, yeah.” The tall man pouted. “He’s not one to touch me the way he did earlier.”

 

“Shorter.” His sister stressed, covering the ears of the pouting Sing.

 

“It’s not like I don’t know what’s going on.” The young boy muttered under his breath.

 

Shorter, Nadia and Sing continued to banter in the background. The words from the Wongs started to sink in and connect each other, along with other things Shorter had told him. Ash’s exclusive mannerisms like giving out his personal number, his excessive physical affection, and of course personal experiences and conversations with him all led Eiji to one sure conclusion. A conclusion that he rather had guessed some time ago.

 

Ash saw him as more than a mere friend.

 

-

 

It was already dawn when Eiji came back home. He had troubles catching a cab to drive him near home, not to mention the traffic was almost unbearable around the hour. However, he still had a reservoir of energy left to properly stash back his shoes, hang his coat and perhaps do some dishes. Back to his routine life, he supposed.

 

To burn off the few calories he obtained from the chips, he spent some time doing light exercises in his living room. His mind was strangely hazy after he had left the hospital, especially after Nadia and Shorter regarding Ash. What did Ash see in Eiji? Still, why did he attend his classes when he’s a professional himself? Newer questions also seeped into his mind. How did Shorter meet Ash or vice versa? How did they end up becoming close? Have they been childhood friends or former rivals?

 

Many questions burned behind Eiji’s mind, which he attempted to set aside by drowning in his novels again. This time, he was watchful enough to sleep on time.

 

For some reason, he felt that the whole day had been a huge cab ride.


	6. Focus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eiji tries to get his shit together but Ash is an overwhelming force of nature.  
> Someone else connected to Ash also joins in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the lack of updates!  
> I've been divided between college and making art constantly, and I could only go back to writing every now and then.  
> Enjoy the unusually long chapter! :"0

The following day, Eiji found a letter by his doorstep after he had showered.

It bore a familiar stamp, which had a cute character in pastel colors. He knew only one person who would use such stamps. This letter must be from his sister Emi.

In his downtime, he would start writing back to his sister right after reading her letters. However, because of how chaotic the past few weeks had been, he could not recall whether he had written something or not. Eiji was the kind of person to be overwhelmed to the point of forgetting things he usually would not forget.

With little hesitance, he picked up the letter from the foot of his doorsteps and carefully tore it open.

The letter shimmered with glitters and stickers as usual, though it did not cover any of the content. He noted that his sister’s handwriting had improved. Eiji’s eyes took in every important character as he read through the letter.

> _ Dear brother, _
> 
> _ It’s been quite some time since I wrote. High school is getting difficult and applying for a college only adds up. So, I guess life goes on as usual with same ol’ me. I bet it’s fun over there in New York. Also, nothing much happened here at home until around now. _
> 
> _ Dad’s lung condition is improving! They might discharge him in a few months, the hospital said. Though I could never be sure, I’m really hopeful to see Dad back at home. You should fly back here and say hi once he’s out! He’ll be glad to see you again. _
> 
> _ Also, guess who just became an uncle and an aunt? Usss. Our cousin just got a baby girl! She decided to name her Reika. Euh, I suggested something like Yuri or Fumiko, but she didn’t really like them. The name Reika’s kinda weird, but it sounds cool~ _
> 
> _ Oh yeah, how are you over there? Mom wants me to ask you too about your dance stuff. I told her you took a bit of a break from it and she’s kinda worried. She even considered trying to get you back home, but I’m sure you’re handling yourself pretty well. You’re my big brother after all. Hope you’re doing fine, you goof. : )) _
> 
> _ Sincerely, _
> 
> _ Your sister Emi _

Eiji fondly smiled at the thought of seeing his father well again. He had been about nine years old when he last saw his father in a healthy state. As a young naive child, he played around and about, unaware that his dad’s “smokey stick habit” would lead to dire health consequences. Eiji was twelve when his dad was first hospitalized, a poignant experience that left its mark in his mind ever since. No matter how hard he tried to forget, the image of his father with a cannula tube and in a hospital gown always remained vivid.

He shook off such thoughts before he could make himself cry. The sight of his helpless father back at home briefly prompted him to yearn for home, but he can’t leave just yet. Maybe just before the year ends, perhaps.

After gently setting down Emi’s letter on the coffee table, he let himself sink into his sofa to recollect his thoughts and focus. So far, there was the whole Ash Lynx debacle with him in his dance class despite being a professional. Eiji often forgot to bring up the important question on why a professional like Ash would enroll in the first place. In turn, he noticed that much had happened ever since Ash came by; he had been sending seemingly flirtatious signals that threw Eiji’s emotions in a constant state of disarray, and Shorter landed in a hospital just a day ago. It was not every day that he sees the best friend of his crush break his legs after a few weeks.

Wait.  _ Crush? _

Eiji’s cheeks flared at the thought of crushing on Ash. As Ash’s dance teacher, it just felt so wrong. At the same time, it was not like his student was way younger and inexperienced. In fact, Ash seemed more well-versed with his moves. Why was he back at this thought process again?

Shooting up from his seat, he hastily retreated to his bedroom to write back to Emi. A hand reached over to the drawer handle where he would usually put his blank papers and pulled out three sheets. His hand then hovered over the pen holder and handpicked the pen he took more liking to.

With his favorite pen in hand, his hand began moving above the blank sheet of paper. He began with the usual formalities before recounting in a few words about what happened for the last few weeks. Of course, he stopped himself from writing Ash’s name, something he did not know the reason behind of. Despite the lack of names in his letter, he made heavy references to Shorter and especially Ash for making his days just a bit fuller. Not like Eiji would admit that to either of them… _ yet _ .

As he made several strokes and lines, he slowly found himself at a loss when it came to his mother’s concern. He was still living fine even if he had stepped down from the stage. Yet, he could not find the right words to placate his mother. After mulling over it for a few minutes, Eiji wrote what he could say, praying that his mother would be relieved by the fact that he was still living well.

Setting the pen down after placing the stamp on the envelope, he slipped on his favorite sneakers and jacket, locking the main door behind him as his legs carried him to the post office.

 

* * *

The polished floors of wood remained as they were when Eiji stepped inside the studio the next day. This time, he had arrived two hours early, which meant he had a lot of time before his students arrive. Dancing to music from his Walkman usually helped him make use of extra time, but it would never be the same after Ash-

_ No, stop. _

Eiji had sworn to get himself under control. No more being flustered by Ash Lynx. He was Eiji Okumura, former professional dancer who now taught dance classes in the summer. Well, that did not sound as great as he had hoped it would. But no matter how much he tried to drill this into his head, his head was almost filled with Ash, Ash, Ash.

Eiji slapped both of his cheeks in an exasperated attempt to calm himself down. He paced around to try and think of something else, his hand cupping his own chin as a physical tic. It didn’t take long for Eiji to hear a mental “ding” within his head.

Right. Eiji was teaching a dance class. Maybe that would veer his thoughts away from Ash for a little bit. After all, his job was to ensure his students were improving in their dancing skills. Well, at least for the upcoming mandatory recital as far as summer dance classes are concerned.

The wide-eyed Eiji had a good eye to even spot the littlest of differences in his students’ moves. For instance, Skipper’s balance on day one was almost non-existent. He often landed on his right foot and in turn, fall had not either his teacher or Michael catch him on time. However, after a few sessions, his footing somehow improved, only almost falling over once.

Michael, on the other hand, shone forth through the smooth flow in his moves, but his pace was often slow compared to the music. The Japanese teacher knew how it could be difficult to maintain flow and pace altogether; even he himself was still struggling at it at times. Fortunately, his best efforts have paid off in a matter of weeks as he observed Michael beginning to balance his flow and pace.

With Sing, Eiji almost took note of no faults from the young boy. However, if he was to name one, it would be Sing’s tendencies to become stiff when it came to certain moves. He had asked the young boy about it and Sing blamed it partly on his physiological make-up. The other part of the blame was directed to the moves themselves. Noting this, Eiji proposed a temporary fix four water breaks ago through a quick massage, to which Sing agreed. And as anticipated, the young boy’s moves were less stiff than before.

Lastly, there was Ash. He was almost faultless in his moves, being notable for his footwork and flexibility. However, for some reason, Eiji noticed a lack of endurance from the young blonde, who breathed quickly and heavily every water break. It was baffling for the smaller man since Ash was younger and more well-built, yet he often forgot to ask about it like he did with Sing. He decided to keep it in mind for today’s class.

Wrapping up his thought process for now, he chose to refresh his muscle memory by going through the steps he had been teaching to his students. He planned to introduce to them today the next segment of their routine, which was building up toward the climax. However, he had some qualms about certain moves, changing them subtly until he was satisfied.

There was only less than an hour left before class started and Eiji had also warmed up. He prepared the CD with the music for the routine and popped it in the boombox sitting on an end table. It was a surprise to see that it was still working despite its slightly decrepit state.

Moments after the device accepted the CD, the door slowly creaked open. A white sneaker made a familiar sound with the wooden floor as its owner stepped inside the room. Ash’s blond strands fell smoothly over his left eye after the back of his hand wiped the sweat beads forming on his forehead. Eiji’s dark eyes instantly caught a pair of jade eyes glancing at him.

“Morning, teacher.” Ash smiled at the smaller man after taking in a few breaths. Eiji knew right away that it was a fake one.

“Good morning, Ash.” He waved at the younger man, his state of mind staying professional. Yeah, it should be like this.

The taller man set his maroon backpack down, his body slumping against the wall after that. His exhausted posture raised a concern for Eiji. And before he knew it, he was Eiji outside the studio; the worrisome nice guy who everyone knew.

“Are you okay?” He asked, crouching down before his student. “You looked like you ran all the way here.”

“Oh, I just sweat easily.” Ash joked. “Most of the time, they all call me ‘The Shiny One’ from all the sweat.”

“Gross!” Eiji playfully jabbed at his student.

They both spent a couple of minutes in fits of laughter. Like a switch however, Ash’s face straightened as if he was about to say something serious.

“About the thing I said with pressing court charges…” He began. “I decided to completely drop them.” It was at this where Eiji’s eyes widened in surprise.

“But why?” Eiji couldn’t help but wonder out loud.

“Why? Because he’s apparently a broke one.” Ash shrugged. “His boots are just for show. And also...because of what you said.” His tone went soft when he said the last sentence.

Eiji’s heart fluttered. “What I said?”

“Yeah, I think I’ll be fine at the thought of him being in prison for life.” The younger man tugged his lips into a small smile. Eiji could not take his wide eyes off the man’s soft features. They strongly contrasted the man’s tough physique, which made it difficult for Eiji to  _ not  _ be mesmerized.

Ash’s jade irises eventually caught sight of the gawking Eiji. “Is…there something on my face?”

The smaller man immediately snapped out of his trance-like state, blushing lightly as he attempted to respond. “Ah no, it’s just…your eyelashes are long and blond.”

_ And beautiful. _

Ash chuckled at this, a blush dusting his cheeks. “No one has ever said anything about them. You’re weird.”

Eiji playfully jabbed the taller man’s shoulder again. But before a witty remark could come out of his mouth, the rest of his chattering students came in. In the case of the unusually quiet Sing, he was accompanied by Nadia this time.  _ Oh right _ .

“Nadia.” He muttered.

“Good morning, Eiji!” The woman smiled warmly. “I’m gonna be attending for Sing for two or three sessions. Also, I want to ask you a small favor later, if you don’t mind.”

The wide-eyed man gave her an affirmative smile in response. Setting his frame of mind to be prepared for conducting today’s class, he proceeded to turn to his students. The sweet gaze from his dark eyes was replaced with a still warm, but professional stare.

 

* * *

It was water break when Nadia approached Eiji for the awaited favor. Meanwhile, the students were doing their own little things; Michael and Skipper were excited over mecha anime, Sing disappeared to the restroom, and Ash was just...somewhere. The small woman's expression mellowed when Eiji approached her.

“What do you want me to do?” The Japanese man asked, confused.

The woman placed her thumb on her lip. “We’re falling short on herbs for our restaurant. Usually, I ask Shorter to buy them for me as I manage the restaurant. But as you can see…”

Eiji looked down on his feet solemnly, knowing what she was implying.

“I would ask Sing, but he has something up too. Everyone else is busy as well." The woman leaned closer to whisper the next bit. "And Ash isn't exactly on friendly terms with the person usually selling the herbs at this time." She pulled back afterward, leaving Eiji curious. He heard distinct footsteps coming toward them.

"Would you mind buying me the herbs just this once?” Nadia implored, brown eyes looking expectant. “I have the list, the money, and the shop address here.”

She handed the money and a strip of paper containing the information Eiji needed.

“I’ll bring them to you after class!” Eiji pocketed the money and the paper too eagerly.

Nadia’s eyes crinkled as she smiled. “Thank you so much, Eiji.”

“No problem!” The smaller man chirped. However, his smile faded slightly when he turned to see a dismal Ash next to him.

The blond was frowning, his brows forming a crease at the center. However, the way these features looked overall made him look childlike. He made a small noise before whispering close to Eiji’s ear:  “What did she whisper to you?"

The smaller man paused before letting out a soft laugh. The thought of Ash being jealous over someone was endearing and hilarious at the same time. But on a serious note, hearing him say something about the clerk had Eiji wonder. What could possibly go wrong? 

"You have beef with the person working at the herb shop." He blurted out. "But why?"

Ash remained quiet before speaking again, dodging his question.

“I want to go with you, if you don’t mind.” This was not given as a proposition, but rather as a declaration. There was no way Eiji could turn him down in this case, as Ash seemed like the kind of person who mostly did whatever he wanted anyway.

"I'll also tell you why later." He added.

But having someone else to come along in the errand seemed a welcoming thought. And so Eiji let out a small laugh, amused in the slightest of Ash’s pouty moment. “Fine, you can come with me after class.”

Eiji could have sworn he saw the instant twinkling in the taller man’s jade irises as the latter extended his gratitude verbally. It was like the glow in a child’s eyes whenever they see the ice cream truck pass by. But with those eyes paired with his poker faced expression, the Japanese man tried to suppress a laugh. So, Eiji decided to pull everyone back together to the session with a clap of his hands and a shrill in his voice. And in an instant, all of the water bottles were laid down half-empty on the wooden floor, away from any foot that might topple them over.

 

* * *

In the midst of the routine, Sing had managed to step on his loose shoelace before he spun. It sent him in a backward tumble where he would have thudded heavily on the floor, had not Ash caught firm grip of the young boy’s arm and helped him back up. Eiji halted the routine to rush over to the two boys. Skipper and Michael followed.

“Are you okay?” The teacher asked, surveying Sing for any possible abrasions.

“I’m fine, teacher. Don’t worry about me.” The young boy reacted with a hint of embarrassment, looking at Ash with his darker eyes.

When Eiji was about to press on a bit more, an immediate glint from Sing’s eyes stopped him from doing so. The teacher watched as the boy’s tiny hands reached down to his own untied shoe, tying the two laces back neatly into a tight ribbon. His posture afterwards was nonchalant yet firm.

“Let’s have a rundown, everyone!” Eiji flashed a smile, clapping his hands together once more.

And no one tripped on their own shoelaces after that.

 

* * *

 

“Take care, boys!” Nadia waved, ushering Sing out as everyone but Ash and Eiji poured out of the studio like running water.

Eiji waved back in affirmation while Ash watched on with a thoughtful gaze.

As the door gently fell shut, the smaller man knelt before his bag to rearrange everything to make room for his jacket. In contrast to the organization of the things in his duffel bag, he simply crammed the damned fabric in the empty space like a Lego brick to another Lego brick. Ash sauntered forward, hands in his pockets.

 

A blond brow twitched. “Aside from being one of my professional rivals, he personally has it out for me too. It’s a long story.”

The wide-eyed Eiji found himself more confounded. How does Ash have personal beef with a clerk working in an herb shop? And a professional rival? The smaller man already had unvoiced assumptions. Like maybe the clerk was actually a professional dancer like Ash and was simply working there part-time. Or maybe Ash ran an underground weed business that was pitting itself against the clerk who is really the boss.

He ended up shrugging off both assumptions.

“I’m okay with long stories.” The smaller man slung his duffel bag’s strap over his shoulder.

Ash’s interest seemed piqued from the way his lip twitched as he opened the door for Eiji in a flaunting manner. “I’m glad you’ll entertain me.”

The smaller man’s eyes crinkled as he giggled at the gesture. The chivalrous nature of the gesture strongly contrasted Ash’s urban fashion, which made it more satirical in a way. Nevertheless, he decided to play along with the act and went out ahead.

“Certainly, you sly cat.” Eiji said this with a jokingly suggestive look on his face.

Ash closed the door behind him and the two prepared for a walk to the heart of Chinatown in the hunt for herbs.

 

* * *

 

“As I said, he’s one of my main rivals in the profession.”

Ash walked closer to Eiji the more they neared the herb shop, telling the latter the story he sort of promised to tell. This was the most prolonged close contact the smaller man had experienced with Ash. However, Eiji was more intent on listening to his friend’s story than be flustered with the closeness.

From what the taller man had said so far, the clerk’s name was Yut Lung Lee, a 16-year-old prodigy who has been leading another famous dance group. Ash added that he did not know why exactly he was selling herbs, but from his last visit, Yut Lung seemed very sour with his position. Ash inferred then that Yut Lung may have been forced to take on the job, but Ash later disclaimed his statement as merely an assumption.

Eiji’s dark eyes stared at Ash’s features as the latter talked, noticing much more due to how close they were to each other.

“But the beef I have with him has something to do with Shorter.”

The same dark eyes widened at the mention of Shorter. His lips parted to say something, but he closed them again and let Ash continue.

“Shorter...he was part of that other group I talked about. When I saw him dance with the group on stage about three years ago, he was...great. But he seemed...soulless.”

The blond looked down at his moving shoes below as he muttered the last word. Nevertheless, Eiji heard it. The man with moist jade eyes then continued.

“There was an intermission before our group’s performance, so I was kinda relieved. I was in a dark state back then, though I don’t remember why. So there I was, near the exits where nobody was around, crying in silence.”

Eiji’s wide pupils shrunk in worry. What could have happened that troubled Ash back then? And why did it happen? The smaller man wanted to pry, but he remained silent once again after seeing Ash’s lips move again.

“Then Shorter found me. I expected him, a member of one of our rival groups, to make fun of me for crying, but he didn’t. He sat down beside me, talked to me a lot and stayed with me until the end of the intermission.”

Ash took a pause.

“Thing was, even if I had lashed out on him at that moment, he stayed. It felt like someone cared for me again after a long time. The people that I needed back then were often emotionally absent, so I couldn’t really feel like anyone cared. So I’m glad to have met Shorter.”

Eiji found himself to understand much more the impact of Shorter’s incident on Ash. Shorter seemed like the family Ash never had; someone who was too important to lose soon. Upon realizing this, a fat tear formed on the corner of the smaller man’s dark eye and quickly slid down his cheek. The blond took notice of this.

“Was that much of a sob story for you?”

The dark-eyed man wiped the tear off his face. “Can’t I feel touched by your story?”

Ash gave a small laugh, which turned into a pout. “Don’t tell him I said all of that about him.”

The shorter man laughed at this, grinning at the blond. “Why not?”

Ash made an awkward sound, his cheeks flushed and his eyes diverted from Eiji. They both noticed the sign of the herb shop making itself visible as the sky above them cleared itself from the blanket of clouds earlier.

“I’ll never hear the end of it.”

 

* * *

 

The herb shop was surprisingly spacious and calming. It was a surprising contrast compared to the cramped and robust shops that Eiji had gotten used to back in Japan. Planks of rich oak boarded the floors, shining from recent polish. Wooden cabinets with glass doors were lined up behind the counter, containing different-sized jars of special herbs and some expensive-looking china. An assortment of jars were neatly stocked in the shelves located at the sides of the shop. That aside, open baskets of herbs were also located at some shelves and at the center displays for all to see. The counter had glass shelves with packets of other Chinese herbs, similar to how ice cream shops display their flavors. Vines of herbal plants hung off loosely from ceiling pots.

The overwhelming amount of herbs around the shop intimidated Eiji at first. But looking back at Nadia’s list and at Ash gave him a push to approach the clerk whom Ash particularly disliked. The blond chose to keep a distance that was not too far from Eiji.

“Excuse me, but um…” Eiji stammered. “I would like to ask for these herbs.”

The annoyed clerk gave the Japanese man the stink eye before eyeing the list. The clerk had long, smooth hair that was tied into a ponytail, letting it cascade down his left shoulder. The shorter parts of his ebony hair stuck out from where his hair parted, partly covering one of his deep purple eyes. He looked younger than both Eiji and Ash, but his face was far from emanating a childlike aura.

Eiji’s chocolate eyes glanced at the name tag situated at the clerk’s breast where his heart was;  _ Yut Lung _ .

“We have all of these.” Yut Lung blankly stated, the list still in his hand.

He called for another person and said something in Chinese, handing the list to the other guy and returning to the counter afterwards. His sharp purple eyes looked behind the shorter man and straight at Ash.

“I see you’ve come to pay me a visit.” The Chinese boy grimaced at Ash, crossing his arms together. “Are you with this person?” He pointed at Eiji with his purple eyes.

Ash tugged the corners of his mouth into a forced smile, stepping forward. “What do you think?”

Yut Lung leaned forward against the counter, careful to not knock anything off it. “His list of herbs has all the exact herbs that Nadia uses for her dishes. I think you would know the rest.”

Eiji began to sense a growing tension between the two people. He subtly underestimated the dislike they felt for each other. However, this gradually thickening tension could simply not be a result of their professional rivalry. And what was it about Shorter being formerly a member of Yut Lung's group that spurred on the hostility between these two? There was something else fueling the fire and Eiji could not put a finger on it until Yut Lung spoke again.

“How’s Shorter?” The Chinese boy’s words lacked sincerity and concern.

“What’s the use of telling you something you already know?” Ash shot back, keeping his volume down.

Yut Lung pretended to wipe a tear from his eye. “Must you really be a spoilsport this early? I’m merely concerned for my former dance member. But you’re right, I do know what happened to him.”

The Japanese man took note of the especially bitter sting of the Chinese boy's last few words, even though the sting was not meant for him. Eiji had never encountered this feeling and yet it was awfully familiar. It was the feeling of not knowing something on the tip of his nose that made him uncomfortable him the most. He bit his bottom lip in unease, attempting to communicate between his friend and the clerk.  


“Looks like your errand boy has something to say.” He commented in an attempt to spur Ash.

“He’s not an errand boy.” Ash almost pulled Eiji toward him as if the latter were being attacked, but showed restraint.

Yut Lung ignored his words, but took in the blond’s immediate defensiveness toward Eiji. “What do you want to say?” He asked Eiji, giving him room to vocalize.

The Japanese man was hesitant, uncomfortable from the tense banter between the two. There was no way he could simply slice the thickened tension, not that he aimed to do so right now. Nevertheless, he mustered up his spirit to say something.

“Do you really hate Ash this much?” Eiji creased his brows in uncertainty.

Yut Lung let out a hearty but mocking laugh, his head flying back from the laughter. Ash looked as equally perplexed as he was angry.

“You comedian.” He taunted. “I’ve never gotten a good laugh out of something for years.”

Eiji merely deadpanned as the Chinese boy continued.

“But you’re almost right.” Yut Lung stared at Eiji’s dark eyes. “Almost.”

His purple eyes which rippled like grape wine glanced at Ash’s jade irises with pure flame.

The guy who Yut Lung called earlier re-appeared with the sacks of herbs in Nadia’s list. The sight of the bags evoked a sigh from the Chinese boy and slowly handed the bags to Eiji with a displeased look on his face. The Japanese man wordlessly handed over the money.

“You should just go.” Yut Lung frowned, shooing the two men like a couple of houseflies. Talk about customer service.

Carrying some of the herbs with him, Ash called out for Eiji to follow closely behind. Out of the corner of his wide eye, the Japanese man caught sight of Yut Lung whipping his phone out and muttering something in Chinese.

 

* * *

 

The last of the bags were emptied and the jars were stacked neatly in Nadia’s metal shelves. She thanked the two and filled them in on Shorter’s condition before she sent them off. 

Apparently, Shorter was on his way to speedy recovery, so he might be discharged before two weeks. However, his legs would be slow to fix themselves. The news relieved Eiji to some degree, who had split ways with an equally relieved Ash for the day and went back home.

The Japanese man's legs slackened from exhaustion in front of the sofa, resting his arms and head on the soft furniture in a hazy evening.

At the end of the day, his brain was still hazy about Ash.

**Author's Note:**

> I was originally going to draw all of this as a weekly comic fan series, but given the circumstances in college, I guess I have to scrap that. I hope you guys enjoy anyhow! ;w;


End file.
